


Like A Moth To A Blue Flame

by Pamgie



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Romance, Drama & Romance, Explicit Language, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, High school crushes, Humor, Mild Smut, Modern Era, Personal Growth, Romance, Second Chances, Vegebulocracy Reverse Bang 2020
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:01:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25652515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pamgie/pseuds/Pamgie
Summary: After being dishonorably discharged from the military, Vegeta comes back to his home town to lick his wounds and start over. His plan didn't include running into the one woman from his past that he knew he could never have, though he desperately wanted her. Always did. Ten years was a long time, and now with circumstances having changed, could they start what they never could during their school years?Bulma Briefs regretted how they had last left things ten years ago in high school. Seeing him again after so many years brought back feelings that she had never let herself truly acknowledge. Now as an adult, she was determined to not let him slip through her fingers. But could she help him overcome the inner demons that had kept him at a safe distance in the past?This was written for the 2020 Vegebulocracy Reverse Bang.
Relationships: Bulma Briefs/Vegeta
Comments: 43
Kudos: 150
Collections: Vegebulocracy Reverse Bang 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the 2020 Vegebulocracy Reverse Bang. 
> 
> Story concept inspired by artwork by the amazing Katschusa
> 
> Beta'd by beta extraordinaire, @ambrosicl

West City, Present Day

His fingers drummed against the steering wheel as he quickly lost patience with the slow pace of traffic. The blinding morning sun was doing him no favors either as it escaped from behind the cover of his car’s visor. He squinted, bringing both hands to the wheel, feeling the cracked faux leather under the coarse skin of his fingers.

Grumbling obscenities to himself, he glanced at the digital clock on the dashboard. 7am. His boss had kept him well past his scheduled shift at the bar last night. Well, more like his boss didn’t do his job so those duties fell to him. Normally, he wasn’t one to whine or complain about his circumstances but last night was particularly troublesome.

Now, he wanted nothing more than to go get a cup of coffee from his favorite coffee shop, head home and forget about his shitshow of a life for a few hours. At least before he had to meet up with his brother later that afternoon.

But the damn traffic was just the cherry on top of the steaming pile that’d been the last 12 hours of his life. Even now he could see the light was green several cars up but everyone was at a standstill. Part of him wasn’t surprised though. These sorts of things were the kind of cards he was dealt. He couldn’t remember the last time something went right in his life. Not for almost ten years...

His inner thoughts abruptly halted as he nearly rear ended the car in front of him.

The sound of squealing tires and the smell of burnt rubber assaulted his senses. “Fucking hell!” He shouted, running his hand through his thick mane of jet black hair, his adrenaline spiking. Thankfully, things were finally starting to move.

It wasn’t long after his near collision that he found an open parking meter not far away from the shop. He parked and looked around, not seeing anybody close enough, he figured he would take the chance and not plug the meter.  
He wouldn’t be long and he was already indulging in an overly expensive, though definitely worth it, cup of joe. The risk was worth taking.

His black combat boots made little to no sound on the smooth cobblestones of the sidewalk. Most of the other shops and businesses weren’t open yet, their storefronts still dark, some curtains still closed. He neared the corner, the smell of roasting coffee beans hit his nose, causing him to take a deep inhale. He had two vices in his life. One of which was coffee.

The jingle of the shop's bell rang overhead as he stepped inside. There was already a line in front of the register, figured. This place was becoming more popular by the day, something he wasn’t very fond of. The less people around him the better.

Stepping in line, he pulled his phone out of his back pocket and busied himself by checking for any messages or emails he might have received over the course of his shift last night.

He was so engrossed in the small device in his hands that he almost missed it. The barista at the counter had shouted someone’s name. A very familiar name, one he hadn’t heard spoken aloud in nearly a decade.

“Medium chai tea for Bulma!” The barista repeated.

It couldn’t be. He quickly took stock of his surroundings, and when he turned to his right he saw a flash of blue as a woman stood up from one of the small bistro tables. Her hair flowed behind her like a waterfall as she sped towards the counter, replying to the barista.

“That’s me!”

That voice, so melodic, so full of life. It had changed slightly since he last heard it, not necessarily deeper, but more robust, more...everything. There was no mistaking it. That voice belonged to one, Bulma Briefs.

He watched from the corner of his eye as the woman picked up her drink, thanking the man at the counter, and began turning in his direction to leave.

It could be said that he was a man of action, a man that knew what he wanted out of life, and then did whatever was necessary to get it. Right now, at this exact moment, he wanted nothing more than to speak to her. He wanted to hear her angelic voice say his name.

But his body remained immobile. As she neared, he quickly averted his gaze and pulled the hood up on his jacket to obscure the unique shape of his hair that would have immediately given him away and once again busied himself on his phone.

As she breezed by him, her scent nearly blew him over. It was different than he remembered, but no less intoxicating. Floral and sweet, it surrounded him like a warm blanket, cocooning him in comfort and so many memories.

Just as fast as the sensation came, it left, by way of the bell above the door jingling, signaling her exit. The only thing on his mind was how badly he wanted to look her in the eyes, and at the same time how much of a coward he was for not doing so.

“Um, excuse me sir, but you’re holding up the line.” A small timid voice sounded behind him.

He removed his hood and turned, seeing a short thin woman with dark brown hair and nervous looking blue eyes that were pointed in his direction then quickly glanced down when she saw his face.

His confusion only lasted a second, enough for him to turn back around and notice that there was no longer anyone in front of him in line. He grunted his acknowledgement to the woman and took two large strides forward to the counter.

The barista standing in front of him was your stereotypical hipster. Thick black frames adorned his angular face. The man wore a black beanie from which chocolate colored hair stuck out in several directions. Under his work apron he wore a red plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up, with his arms braced on the counter he wore a bright smile that was surrounded by a thick goatee.

“Welcome to the Senzu Cafe, what can I get ya?” The barista cheerfully welcomed.

Once his phone was back in his pocket, he eyed the man’s name tag. “Korin.” What kind of name was that? His parents must have been high as kites when they came up with that one.

“Your strongest dark roast. Large.”

Korin nodded as he input the order into the display in front of him. “Okay great! Anything else? Cream, milk…”  
He wasn’t able to continue with the extensive list of extras when he was cut off quickly.

“Just the coffee.”

Korin’s smile, which was much too bright for this time of day, dimmed ever so slightly at his customer’s abrupt interruption.

“Ok, just the coffee then. Is this for here? Or to go?”

Wanting to hurry things along, he responded quickly. “To go”

“And the name for the order?” The barista looked up at him expectantly.

He always hated this part because they never spelled his name right. He didn’t come here every day, but he came often enough to notice that Korin was a new employee, with that new employee enthusiasm that most of the other workers behind the counter had ditched long ago.

“Vegeta.” He growled out. Not even bothering with trying to spell it, because he’d tried that in the past and they still got it wrong.

Korin hastily scribbled the name onto the recyclable cup and passed it onto another barista to fill the order. Vegeta dug out his wallet and threw out a ten dollar bill on the counter, then began making his way to the other end under the “pick up” sign.

“Hey! You gave me too much, it’s only $5.50!” Korin shouted.

Vegeta waved his hand in the air in a dismissive gesture without looking back.

“Keep the change.” This morning was already overwhelming him and he didn’t want to deal with people any more than he absolutely had to.

He reclined against an unoccupied high top table, his elbows resting on top while he waited for his coffee. His thoughts consumed with what he’d seen mere minutes ago. Who he’d seen.

Bulma Briefs.

The girl he secretly pined for all throughout Senior high. The girl he adamantly refused to believe he was pining for all those years ago. It wasn’t until their senior year that he admitted to himself that it was more than just an infatuation. Just to himself though. It would be a cold day in hell before he let on to anyone that he had actual feelings for the girl.

Even back then she had a great body. Perfect really. Not too skinny, perky breasts, rounded hips. Blue eyes that glittered like the ocean on a calm day and matching hair that looked like pure silk.

He wasn’t able to get a good look at her with the tan colored trench coat she wore, but the way she had it cinched at the waist, he could make out the subtle dip between her waist and hips, no doubt she had only grown more attractive over the years.

His thoughts were cut short by the shouting of his name. Or rather the shouting of something that was similar enough to his name…

“Feshita? Large dark roast for Fe-fejida?” A bored sounding woman hollered through the cafe.

He rolled his eyes and pushed off from the table, grabbing the drink out of her hand, nearly spilling some out of the small opening at the top.

“Hey, easy there bud.” She warned.

He scowled at her, turning briskly and heading for the door. Once he made it to the sidewalk he stopped, and took a sip, the scalding liquid warming his body on it’s way down. He lifted the cup from his lips and looked down to see the travesty they made of his name this time.

Sure enough it read: “Feshita”

But the coffee was damn good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bulma scurried down the sidewalk to her waiting uber, trying not to slosh her coffee all over her new Burberry trench. She thanked the driver profusely as she got in and gave them directions.

As she sank in the seat and took a sip of her delicious chai, she couldn’t help but think about the guy she saw standing in line. He looked so familiar, like someone she knew from school. Even with the man’s hood up over his hair, his strong jaw and high cheekbones were visible as well as his fierce eyes. Even though he wasn’t even looking in her direction, she felt the familiar tightening of her stomach that she got whenever she was around...him…

Vegeta Ouiji.

Her childhood crush from school. The mysterious and down right handsome boy that transferred to Shenron Senior High. She was immediately drawn to him. She had never felt anything like it, or since for that matter. Even when she was with her highschool boyfriend Yamcha, she still felt that pull towards him.

Of course, she never acted on that little infatuation. At least not much. A little harmless teasing here and there never hurt anyone. A secret glance every once and awhile. A friendly conversation. But she never jeopardized her relationship with Yamcha. She wasn’t that kind of girl.

However, the interest was still there. And from what she saw in that short moment in the coffee shop, she had to say the last few years had been good to him. His body had filled out even more than she remembered it. His thick arms and chest filled out the leather jacket he wore, his black pants stretched deliciously over taut thigh muscles. If only she got a glimpse of his hair, she could have been sure it was him.

Taking another sip of her drink, Bulma watched as the towering buildings of West City rushed by her window. Even though her place of work and her home were on the other side of the city, she always made the trek over to Senzu cafe in the mornings for her chai latte. No one made it better, and she knew, since she’d tried nearly every chai latte in the city.

She sighed in contentment and allowed her thoughts to wander…

_13 Years ago_

_The bright lights of the gymnasium shined down onto the lacquered floor, creating small bright balls of reflection. The whole space smelled of rubber and faint B.O. Bulma wrinkled her nose in disgust._

_She normally didn’t attend these kinds of events. They really weren’t her style. But her best friend Chi Chi had recently started dating her other friend Goku, who was on the wrestling team and had begged Bulma to tag along with her to lend support. So here she was squeezed between her friend and another classmate she wasn’t familiar with like they were canned sardines on very uncomfortable bleachers at Shenron High’s quarterly pep rally._

_Every sports team paraded around the gym, the team captains giving speeches about their upcoming games or matches. The cheerleaders performed a routine that could barely be considered as such, with the girls shaking more than just their pom-poms._

_“Show a little class would ya?!” Chi Chi yelled beside her._

_Bulma chuckled. “You tell ‘em Chi!”_

_“I mean really, it’s one thing to root for the home team, it’s another to show everyone your goods.”_

_She nodded in agreement as the routine ended and the cheerleaders screamed and shouted, getting the crowd riled up. Everyone around them started standing and chanting their school fight song as Bulma looked around slightly confused._

_She leaned in close to Chi Chi and yelled in her ear. “Are they really that impressed with the cheerleaders? They weren’t that good.”_

_Chi Chi stopped her chanting and cocked an eyebrow. “Bulma, they’re the intro to the wrestling team. You do know they’ve won the regional championship three years in a row now right? They’re the best sports team in the whole school! And my Goku is Captain this year, as a sophomore! Can you believe it?!”_

_Bulma’s eyes widened, followed by a warm smile. She wasn’t aware of the reputation of the wrestling team actually, but seeing the look on Chi Chi’s face made her being here worth it. She couldn’t remember the last time she saw her friend so happy._

_Her smile widened and she began clapping along, since she had no idea what the words to her school’s fight song were._

_Through the chanting she could hear a drum beat and bassline through the gym’s speaker system repeating several times before a syncopated vocal laid over top. The driving beat had Bulma tapping her foot and waiting in anticipation of what would come next._

_Sure enough, the gym’s lights dimmed except for the one closest to the entrance to the locker rooms, and one by one, muscular guys came running out, jumping up and down, getting the crowd excited. Goku was in front, wearing his school’s jacket over his wrestling sweatshirt._

_As Chi Chi’s cheers filled Bulma’s head she watched the entire wrestling team enter the gym. Then it suddenly felt like her heart stopped beating when she saw the one wrestler who seemed like this was the last place on the face of the planet, he wanted to be._

_She’d recognize the upswept jet black hair anywhere. It resembled a flame and looked so thick that Bulma wanted to spear her fingers into it._

_He had his arms crossed over his chest, a deep scowl plastered on his face. His long sleeve wrestling shirt looked painted on him, and his ass looked absolutely fabulous even in slightly baggy track pants. As He passed by the section of bleachers she was sitting in, he looked into the crowd and right at her. Her breath stilled in her lungs as his intense gaze seemed to penetrate her very soul. His face softened ever so slightly as their eyes locked and she raised her hand in a small wave._

_Bulma saw his lips turn up in a barely visible smirk as he nodded quickly, then continued walking along with the rest of his team._

_Walking beside him was a fellow classmate Yamcha, who also seemed to be looking at her as well. Right as she waved, he had thought she was waving at him and winked at her._

_Not wanting him to feel awkward she waved again, a friendly smile on her lips and as he turned to join the rest of his team, Bulma returned her gaze back to the mysterious guy that she now knew more about._

_Vegeta was on the wrestling team._

Present Day

She smiled to herself as she remembered that day from long ago.

As her Uber stopped in front of her office building, She felt a burst of determination. She knew in her gut that the man in the coffee shop was none other than Vegeta Ouiji himself.

And now, over ten years from that day at the pep rally, she learned something new about the ever mysterious Vegeta.

Where he got his coffee.

Pep Rally Song

Dragon Attack by Queen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spm5-SXo4Do&list=RDspm5-SXo4Do&start_radio=1&t=0


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the 2020 Vegebulocracy Reverse Bang.
> 
> Story concept inspired by artwork by the amazing Katschusa
> 
> Beta'd by the one, the only, @ambrosicl!

**Chapter 2**

  
  


*Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Be-

A fist shot out from underneath a tangle of sheets and comforters, not so delicately pounding the offending alarm clock with enough force to knock it off the nightstand and clatter onto the hardwood floors. 

Vegeta groaned and threw his arm over his face, five hours of sleep was most certainly not enough, but it would have to do. 

The coffee seemed like a good idea at the time, but once he got home and tumbled into bed unable to drift off to sleep, it suddenly became a bad one. 

At least once he fell asleep, he was greeted by dreams of her. Ones he hadn’t dreamt of in years. He ran through the dream he was in the middle of when his alarm went off.

_ He had just punched Yamcha Bandit in the face, breaking his nose. He couldn’t remember what Yamcha had done to earn that broken nose, but he never did seem to care. She would come up behind him, putting her arms around his neck and speak softly into his ear. “Thank you, Vegeta.” Instantly causing chills on the skin of his neck. _

It was an oldie, but a goodie. 

But of course his damned alarm had to ruin everything before he could get to the good part. 

If only he hadn’t agreed to meet with his brother this afternoon. It’s not that he didn’t want to see the kid, but more often than not, he somehow ended up scheduling their get-togethers at the most inopportune times. Or more like every other aspect of his life decided to try and keep them from seeing one another. This time around it was due to his work and lack of sleep. 

Throwing the sheets from his body, he stretched his tired muscles, cracked his neck and padded through his room to the bathroom across the hall. 

Looking at his reflection in the old speckled mirror, he noticed the beginnings of bags under his eyes. The pallor of his skin wasn’t as dark and rich as normal; too pale for his liking. The worst part of all was the look in his eyes. It was the look of a man who had endured one too many hardships in his life, hardships that irrevocably changed him. 

Not wanting to go down the rabbit hole of self loathing, he grabbed his toothbrush and went about getting ready to go see his brother. 

The drive to Tarble’s apartment didn’t take long. After his brother graduated from college he decided to live with his college roommate in a two bedroom unit that opened up in the building across from the city library. Having a roommate was the only way the two could afford the place, even though the building had certainly seen better days. It’s location brought top dollar to it’s landlords.

Vegeta walked up the cracked concrete steps and pressed the buzzer by the door. A crackle erupted through the speaker immediately followed by a familiar voice. 

“‘Geta? That you?”

“You expecting someone else right this second?” He huffed. “Of course it’s me.”

Tarble chuckled, “Right, well then. Come on up!” The intercom went silent as the sound of the lock on the door unlatching could be heard. Vegeta strode inside and climbed the four flights of stairs to the top. There was an elevator in the building, but it looked ancient and the last thing he wanted was to get trapped in the thing. 

As he reached the top floor and walked the short distance to his brother’s door, he noticed it was already ajar, so he pushed it open the rest of the way and walked in. 

He was instantly greeted by the sight of Tarble’s roommate Cabba, walking across the living room towards the hallway that led to the bedrooms, wearing nothing but a threadbare towel that hung so low on his narrow hips Vegeta was sure the thing would slip off any second. 

“What the hell Cabba!? Put some damn clothes on.” Vegeta griped, covering his eyes with his forearm.

The young man turned his head and merely shrugged his shoulders. “What? It’s my place too ya know. Besides, where did you think I was going?” He laughed. 

Vegeta grumbled out his discomfort under his breath and walked over to the sectional sofa situated against the far wall adjacent to a wall of windows overlooking the warehouse district. 

“Your bare ass cheeks better not have been on this couch!” Vegeta yelled down the hall. 

Cabba stuck his head out of his door. “If they were, I wouldn’t tell you.” He sang out. 

“Little shit.” Vegeta tried to get comfortable but could only imagine the scrawny kids’ butt touching every inch of the couch. 

It was then that he noticed Tarble walking up to him with two glasses of water in his hands. He reached out and took one, nodding his thanks. 

“Does he do that often?” 

Tarble raised an eyebrow in question. “What are you referring to? The teasing?” There was a mischievous gleam in his eye. 

“Hmph, no. Him prancing around the apartment practically naked.” He took a sip of his drink, the cool water soothing his stressed nerves. 

Tarble shrugged one shoulder. “Yea, but you get used to it. We’ve lived here nearly 3 years now, I’m surprised you walking in on him in that state hadn’t happened earlier honestly.” 

Vegeta grunted and took another drink of water. Silence fell between the two brothers. 

“So. What’s new with you? I haven’t seen or talked to you in a few weeks.” Tarble played with the condensation on his glass, then looked over to Vegeta. 

The eye contact was too much for him, so he looked down into his own water, watching the ice cubes dance around in the glass as his slightly shaking hands made it move. 

His hands were shaking? What the hell? 

  
  
Tarble noticed his brother's discomfort and gently took his glass and set it down on a coaster on his rough looking coffee table, displaying West City’s Basketball team, the dragons. Funny as the coaster itself was surrounded by old condensation rings, so the point of it even being used was lost to Vegeta. 

“You ok? You seem really tense. Did something happen at work?” 

Vegeta narrowed his eyes and went to retort, but the look of genuine concern on his brother’s face made the words stall in his throat. Tarble was the only person he could confide in. Not that he did that often, or ever really. But as he got older, Vegeta realized that holding all this shit in was slowly eating him alive from the inside out. 

He swallowed his pride, his mouth dry and his tongue feeling like cotton even though he just had some water. As he was about to speak, a fully dressed Cabba came strutting down the hallway. 

“Hey Tarbs, I’m going down to Mickey’s to catch the game.” He waved as he grabbed his baseball cap and wallet from the side table. 

“Ok, see you later.” The soft sound of the apartment door closing brought the silence between the two brothers back to attention. 

“Look, if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s ok. I understand that’s not how you process things and—“

“Walk. Let’s take a walk. I-I need some fresh air.” Vegeta interrupted. 

Tarble nodded in agreement. “Sure.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The early spring sun was warm even though the air around them was a little cool. They both sported jackets, Vegeta’s hands were in his pockets while Tarble let his arms swing at his sides. 

They walked several blocks in silence, listening to the bustle of the city around them. The occasional bird chirped from their nest in the trees planted along the sidewalk. 

They soon entered the neighborhood park and began walking down the winding path past people walking their dogs, mothers and fathers pushing strollers with their young kids inside. It really was a perfect spring day despite Vegeta’s sour mood. 

And he couldn’t even figure out why he was so put out today anyway. Sure last night at work sucked, but it’s not like stuff like that hadn’t happened before. His boss had stopped caring about the business, leaving the daily operations to his co-workers. It sucked at the moment but there wasn’t much he could do about it. 

Then there was seeing Bulma this morning. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt so rattled. His mask of confidence and surety rarely ever slipped, but this morning it was as if he was 17 again, unsure of himself and his every movement. 

Maybe that was it. Maybe he was pissed at himself for his actions at the coffee shop. Maybe it had to do with the fact that the moment he saw her, all the memories, and feelings associated that he had worked so hard on locking away, had slammed back into him with a vengeance. 

They found a secluded bench several feet away from the path, looking out over a small pond covered in algae. Vegeta sat, leaning his elbows on his thighs, looking out at the water. 

Tarble sat beside him, reclining with his ankles crossed and one arm over the back of the bench opposite of his brother. 

Normally, these visits were filled with small talk. They were pleasant and brief. Just the way Vegeta liked them. But today was different. 

“I-I saw someone this morning.” He finally uttered, still not looking his brother’s way. 

A few seconds ticked by with nothing more. “Okay. Would you care to elaborate on that?” 

Vegeta chuckled humorlessly. “Not really.”

“Seriously? You’re going to leave me hanging? C’mon, you show up super tense and moody, although the moody part isn’t anything new…” 

Vegeta punched Tarble in the arm. 

“...Hey! It’s true and you know it! Then we go for a walk? You never want to go for walks. And to top it all off, you finally reveal a tiny part of what’s bothering you, but then clam up. What am I supposed to do, just leave it at that?” 

Vegeta sat up straight, and rolled his shoulders. “Yea, you should.”

“Well, I’m not going to. Obviously something has you wound up and since it’s affecting our time together, I’d like to know why.

“Doesn’t mean I need to tell you.” 

Tarble groaned and shoved his hand through his hair, which was equally as dark and thick as his brothers, just shorter. 

“Gods, it’s like pulling teeth getting anything out of you! And just so you know, if you didn’t really want to tell me, you wouldn’t have even mentioned that you saw someone this morning. Let’s not even get into how basic and cryptic that is. You want to talk to someone, and since I’m sitting here with you right now, it might as well be me.”

Vegeta sighed in frustration. Damn Tarble and his common sense. Sometimes he felt like Tarble’s true calling was something along the lines of a psychologist or family therapist, rather than library sciences with the way he could read into people’s situations so easily. 

“Fine. I saw someone from high school at the coffee shop I went to this morning.” His words came out in rapid fire succession. 

Tarble rose one eyebrow in surprise. “Really? Who was it? Anyone I’d know?” 

With their five year age difference they weren’t ever in the same school at the same time, but that didn’t mean that they weren’t familiar with each other’s friends and acquaintances. 

He hesitated in answering. Knowing that saying her name would just bring up more questions that he definitely didn’t want to answer. But there was no getting around this. Besides the sooner he could get this conversation over with the sooner he could go back home and get ready for work. 

“Bulma Briefs.”

“Whoa, seriously?  _ THE _ Bulma Briefs?” 

“You know any other Bulma’s?” Vegeta snapped back. 

Tarble laughed off his brother’s snarky response. “Obviously no. But I remember her. She was a total babe back then. All the boys in my class thought so and we were like 4 grades below you guys? And if I’m not mistaken she’s still a total babe if her social media posts are accurate at all.” 

Vegeta stilled at hearing his brother talk like that about Bulma. If he and his brother had been after the same girl back then and he had no idea….

“Did you like her?” His voice sounded a whole register deeper than normal. 

“Bulma? Me? Nah, I just thought she was hot. She was definitely too old for me. I was like 11 years old when you started hanging out in similar social circles.”

An audible sigh of relief came unbidden from Vegeta’s lips. Thank God. He didn’t know what he’d do if Tarble was into her.

“You had a pretty big crush on her though if I remember correctly.” Tarble rubbed his chin in thought. 

“I did not!” The denial felt thick in his throat. 

“Hah! Nice try brother, but if anyone can read you, it’s me. And you were the definition of smitten back then.”

“I never was, nor will I ever be,  _ smitten. _ ” He spat out the word as if it was poison. 

“Oh Vegeta, come on. Don’t lie to me. We’re both adults here. Unless…” Tarble’s eyes widened to the size of teacup saucers. 

“What?” Vegeta didn’t like where this conversation was going one bit. 

“Unless...You still have a thing for her don’t you. After all these years, you’re still into her!”

The tips of his ears turned pink and his face flushed. He turned away from Tarble as quickly as possible, standing and pacing back and forth behind the bench. There was no denial coming from his lips this time because the truth was, he did indeed still care for the woman. Part of him always had. And now his brother knew his dilemma. 

“This is kind of serious isn’t it? Why didn’t you ever try and contact her, if you felt so strongly all this time?”

Now Vegeta stopped his pacing and looked down at his brother who was genuinely curious and awaiting his answer. Running his hand down his face, he gathered the strength to respond. 

“Because a lot of shit has happened over the years. I’ve changed, and I’m sure she has too. I hear her father is getting ready to hand over the reins of his company to her. She’s a successful and no doubt busy woman who deserves far better than a dishonorably discharged navy seal who now works at a seedy bar in the underbelly of West City!” 

His breathing had quickened and Vegeta realized he was practically yelling, as an elderly couple out for a walk had looked their way and increased their pace to distance themselves from the brothers. 

“Ve-Vegeta.” Tarble breathed out. “You can’t possibly believe that…” 

The look he leveled his brother with gave him all the answers he’d get. A lesser man would tuck tail and run after being under the intense stare of Vegeta Ouiji. But Tarble merely sat there, his wide eyes shining and a look of near pity graced his youthful features. 

Taking in a deep breath to calm his fraying nerves, Vegeta walked back around and sat next to his brother once more. 

“I do believe that. She deserves someone much better than I. Besides, I don’t even know her anymore.”

Tarble nodded as if he agreed with that statement, and Vegeta was glad his brother understood the situation. That was until he opened his mouth. 

“Do you have your phone on you?”

Confused by the sudden change of topic, Vegeta decided to take the bait and see where Tarble was going with this. He fished out his cell phone from his back pocket and handed it to his brother. 

“Why do you need to see my phone?” 

“Oh, no reason really.” And no sooner had Tarble said that, the flash of his phone’s camera went off and Tarble’s mouth quirked up into a smirk as he continued typing something. 

Stunned by the flash, Vegeta quickly reoriented himself and made a grab for his phone, but Tarble was already off the bench, typing and swiping hurriedly on the smart device. 

“What the fuck Tarble?” Vegeta trailed after him, trying not to make a scene, but not wanting Tarble to have a minute more to finish whatever the hell he was doing. 

“I see you still have the PicGram app. Though from your profile, it looks like the last time you logged in was a few years ago. I updated your profile picture.” 

Tarble showed Vegeta the screen and sure enough it was his profile on PicGram, though he never really got into all that shit, Tarble had convinced him years ago to make a profile and he never cared too much about actually deleting it. Now he could see that it was indeed updated, with the picture Tarble just took as his new profile picture, and a caption to go with it. 

“ _ Feeling kinda cute, I don’t know, might delete this later” _

The picture, though candid, wasn’t all that bad. His hair looked decent, he wasn’t smiling, but he wasn’t frowning either. It just looked like...him. However, that caption had to go. 

“The picture can stay, but I’m giving you five seconds to delete the message. 5...4…”

“Fine, fine.” Tarble gave in and edited the post, then gave Vegeta back his phone, taking a seat on the bench once again. 

“So, you want to look her up?”

His gaze snapped up from his phone at Tarble’s suggestion. Did he want to look her up? Tarble did mention that she was active on PicGram. He had to admit he was curious about what she was up to these days, but it also somehow felt creepy, like stalking. He now remembered why he didn’t like these damn social media sites. 

Before he could even enter her name into the search function, Tarble handed him his phone, her profile already pulled up. 

“She’s got tons of followers, being the heiress to Capsule Corp and all. Doesn’t hurt that she’s gorgeous.”

Tarble was once again levelled with a glare so intense it was like looking at an eclipse. 

Amazing and also very dangerous if you look at it for very long. 

He quickly went on the defensive. “No worries ‘Geta. I’m just making an observation, no interest on my part.” 

“Hm.” Vegeta replied, as he scrolled through Bulma’s profile. 

She really was stunning. Even though they were in their late twenties now, she could still easily pass for Tarble’s age or younger. He stopped at a picture of her with the sunset in the background, causing some strands of her blue hair to shimmer like ocean waves. 

She was standing on a balcony of some kind, a drink in her hand that had one of those kitschy umbrellas in it. A sexy smirk graced her full lips and showcased a small dimple on her cheek. It was captioned: 

_ “Vacation time!”  _

She looked so happy, so at ease. The thought of her happiness made something in his chest tighten, it surprised him to the point that he actually placed his palm against his heart. 

Just then he felt his phone vibrate. He looked down and saw a notification on the screen.

_ “TheMsBulmaBriefs has started following you” _

Vegeta’s eyes nearly bugged out of his skull. What did that mean? That she went onto this site to look him up, just like he was doing the same? His stomach knotted up, making him feel slightly queasy. 

He hadn’t felt this out of control of his emotions since he was a kid. He had to get a lock on this shit. It didn’t have a place in his life, he didn’t have time for it. 

As he scrolled back up her page, he saw the most recent post she made, which was from this morning. You could only see her bright blue eyes, fanned by thick dark lashes and her button nose. A cup of coffee covered the rest of her face, the Senzu cafe logo was visible. The caption read: 

_ “This day is off to a great start! Got my daily chai, and pretty sure I saw an old friend that I haven’t seen in a very long time. If you’re reading this, old friend, I’ll see you again soon, same time, same place.”  _

The caption was followed by a winking emoji and some hashtags. 

Then it all dawned on him. She recognized him. 

  
  
  
  
  



	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written for the 2020 Vegebulocracy Reverse Bang.
> 
> Story concept inspired by artwork by the amazing Katschusa
> 
> Beta'd by the awesome Ambrosicl
> 
> If you'd like to see more of Katschusa's beautiful work, you can find her on Tumblr under the same name!! ;)

**Chapter 3**

_ Shenron High School  _

_ Over 10 years ago _

  
  
  


_ Third period chemistry was starting in just a few minutes. Despite the course’s curriculum being far too easy for her, Bulma still enjoyed the lab work.  _

_ She arrived early as usual, pulled out her crumpled spiral bound notebook that had the word chemistry scrawled in big block letters with crudely drawn beakers, test tubes and hearts around it.  _

_ Reaching into her backpack she had sitting on the ground by her desk, she rummaged through the piles of loose leaf papers and a few textbooks until she could feel the bottom of the bag, moving her hand around until she curled her fingers around a lone pencil.  _

_ Setting the writing utensil on her desk, she twirled her finger around her side ponytail, a habit from her childhood that she still did when she was bored or anxious. A glance at the utilitarian clock above the classroom door counted down the seconds until the third period bell rang. Still no sign of Mr. Gero.  _

_ He was usually in his classroom by now. Bulma would know as she was also the first student to arrive most of the time, and she’d find him in the back of the room behind his desk, his head buried in piles of notes or some reference book. _

_ But not today.  _

_ She tried to wrack her brain for any reason he might not be here as the shrill sound of the bell reached her ears from out in the hallway. A few straggling students ran into the room, sliding into their seats and nervously looked towards the back, expecting to see the disapproving look of their stern, no nonsense chemistry teacher, but found an empty chair.  _

_ As It became apparent there was no adult in the room, the class became rowdier, some kids sitting on top of their lab tables. Two kids at the table next to Bulma started a spitball fight with straws that seemed to appear out of thin air.  _

_ Bulma sighed as she scooted her chair away from the volley of saliva laden paper wads and glanced at the clock again. Five minutes late. This was unheard of, she couldn’t remember the last time Mr. Gero was this late for class. She was beginning to get worried.  _

_ “What on Earth is all this racket?!” A raspy voice yelled out.  _

_ Mr. Gero stood in the doorway, his wiry gray hair looking a little more out of place than usual. His brown leather briefcase he always carried was under his arm.  _

_ At the sound of his commanding voice, the room quieted. He took a few steps in and then looked back out into the hallway, making a come here gesture to a person she couldn’t see.  _

_ “Just because I’m a few minutes late doesn’t give you miscreants the right to cause chaos in my classroom.” He looked around at a few of the students that Bulma knew were the usual trouble makers  _

_ “I was speaking with the school counselor, apparently we have a new student who decided that it’s ok to skip the first two class periods.” Shaking his head in what appeared to be disgust, Mr. Gero looked back out into the hallway.  _

_ “Well? What are you waiting for? A formal invitation? Get in here young man.” _

_ As everyone’s eyes were glued to the entrance of the classroom the most attractive guy Bulma had ever seen walked through, rolling his eyes at the teacher, he adjusted the strap of his backpack on his shoulder and remained standing at the front of the class. _

_ Bulma’s breath hitched. Her heart pounded in her chest. He was breathtakingly handsome. His charcoal black hair looked thick and was swept up into a point, which had an almost flame-like quality. His eyes looked nearly black as well, almond shaped and very intense. With the angular lines of his jaw and cheek bones, he was a sight to behold. Wearing a black leather jacket over a navy blue vee neck t-shirt that couldn’t hide the lean muscles of his chest and stomach even if it tried, he looked like the epitome of a bad boy and Bulma felt a tightening in her stomach as she took all of him in.  _

_ “Don’t just stand there. Introduce yourself and take a seat. We don’t have all day.” Mr. Gero grumbled as he dug into his briefcase and set some papers on the podium at the front of the class.  _

_ The boy exhaled deeply through his nose and looked up to the ceiling, giving Bulma the impression he would rather be anywhere else than here.  _

_ After a beat he dragged his gaze back to the students in front of him.  _

_ “The name’s Vegeta. I’m new.” He then quickly scanned the room, his eyes locking with Bulma’s then began walking towards her.  _

_ Bulma looked to her left and realized the seat next to her was empty. He was going to sit right next to her! The finger twirling her hair began moving faster. Her other palm began to get sweaty, she rubbed it against the denim of her jeans.  _

_ Plopping down into the seat next to her, the boy known as Vegeta nodded to her as he set down his backpack and grabbed a notebook and pencil.  _

_ “A real orator, aren’t we? Let’s get down to business then yes? Please take out your lab notes from yesterday…” Mr. Gero began.  _

_ Bulma slid her notes across the lab table towards him. Swallowing her nervousness she was able to whisper.  _

_ “You can look at my notes for today if you’d like.”  _

_ Looking up from his notebook, those dark penetrating eyes met hers once more and she nearly swooned from the heat of his gaze.  _

_ “Thanks.”  _

_ The sound of his voice caused chills to run up and down her arms.  _

_ Trying to play it cool, Bulma tamped down the instinct to giggle like a little girl.  _

_ “No problem. I’m Bulma, by the way.”  _

_ “Hey, Bulma.” _

_ ~~~~~~~~ _

“Hey, Bulma.”

His voice suddenly sounded much less masculine than she remembered. 

“Bulma!” A woman’s voice whispered harshly to her, accompanied by a jab in the ribs. 

“Ouch! Hey, what gives?” She murmured a little too loudly. Snapping her head to the left she saw an icy eyed blond woman nodding her head to Bulma’s right. Looking around she realized she was in a conference room, not her high school chemistry class. Her father, who was standing at the head of the conference table, tilted his head toward her in concern. 

“Everything alright Bulma?”

Shit. Had she dozed off? Had she been daydreaming? Who knows, but either way it didn’t look good. 

“Hm? Oh, yes I’m fine.” She replied with as much nonchalance as possible. 

“Good, good. So how about it? How are our numbers looking for cap phone production this month?”

She looked back over to her co-worker and friend who seemed to enjoy Bulma’s suffering at this moment, a very small smirk lifted up the corner of her mouth and her eyes gleamed. 

“Oh, yes the production numbers.” Bulma reached for her tablet that laid in front of her and proceeded to spout off the most recent statistics. She was now in charge of R&D for her father’s company and the latest capsule phone was her baby. 

After the meeting ended and most of the employees filed out of the room, her father came up to her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. 

“Sweetie, you feeling okay?”

Turning her head, she looked into her father’s caring lavender eyes. No matter how much of a fool she made of herself today, she could always count on her dad to make her feel better. 

“Yea, I think so. Just a bit distracted is all.”

“That’s understandable. You have a lot on your plate right now. Maybe you should take a few days off. Get some rest.” Her father suggested. 

The thought of leaving the roll out of their latest product to her team left a sour taste in her mouth. She trusted her co-workers, no doubt about it. But everything had to be perfect and the only way to ensure that would be to oversee it all herself. 

“No, I’ll be alright. Thanks Dad. I’ll take some time off after the product launch. I promise.” Placing her hand over his, that still rested on her shoulder. Bulma smiled affectionately at the man that could always brighten her day. 

“Alright, I’ll hold you to that.” He smiled back. “You let me know if you need anything sweetie. You know where to find me.” With that her dad walked out of the conference room, probably on his way back to his personal lab. 

Leaning back in her chair, Bulma sighed and rubbed her hands over her face. If she was ever going to prove that she could run this company some day, she had to get her head in the game. Not reminiscing about her teenage years. 

Once she made it to her office, she sank into her comfortable chair behind her desk and pulled her cell phone out of the desk drawer, opening up the Picgram app, she checked her notifications. 

The latest one, at the very top caused her breath to catch. 

_ Vegeta has started following you _

Bulma looked around her empty office and then back to her phone screen. Her smile widening by the second. 

So he _ was _ active on social media. It didn’t take long after she arrived at work to find him on the site, though it looked like he hadn’t been on in several years. She went to his profile and saw the recent post. 

He was wearing the same jacket he had on that very morning. Interesting. She hadn’t gotten a very close look at his face, but this new profile picture made it easy now. His face had filled out some from what she remembered. He still had the strong jaw and high cheekbones, but now there was a slight five o’clock shadow gracing his jaw and cheeks, making him all the more delectable in Bulma’s mind. 

She was so engrossed in ogling his profile that she nearly jumped out of her seat when her phone was snatched from her hand. 

“Keeping busy I see.” The woman sitting on her desk eyed the picture of Vegeta on her phone. 

“You scared the hell out of me Eighteen!” Bulma yelled, her hand to her chest as she caught her breath. 

“Hm, I can see why you’re distracted. This is one fine male specimen.” She replied tonelessly. 

“Who is he?”

Bulma stood from her seat and went to grab her phone back but Eighteen held it out of reach. 

Crossing her arms over her chest, Bulma grumbled out. “He’s an acquaintance from high school. I saw him this morning while getting my coffee.”

Eighteen nodded, her blond hair cut into a long bob swayed with the movement. 

“So did you ask him out?”

Bulma spluttered as her eyes got wide. “W-Wha? No. I just saw him and recognized him. We didn’t actually talk.”

“Well, that’s a shame. He’s a fine piece of ass. I wouldn’t wait long to pounce on him.”

“Seriously? And here I thought it was just men that objectified the opposite sex. You’re talking about him like he’s prey about to be turned into a gourmet meal.”

The last sound she ever expected to come out of her stoic and tight lipped friend’s mouth, came unbidden from her lips. 

She laughed. 

“Isn’t he though? If you aren’t that hungry, you wouldn’t mind if I had a taste, yea?” 

The energy in the room darkened as Bulma stomped around the desk and grabbed her phone, slamming it down on the lacquered oak. Her gaze brooked no argument. 

Eighteen brought her hands up in a surrendering gesture. “All right, all right. I was just joking. I can see you like him.” 

Bulma realized she overreacted and leaned against her desk. “Sorry, I don’t know where that came from. Running into him this morning has just brought up a lot of old feelings.”

“I can see that. Why don’t we talk about it over lunch then. My treat?”

Bulma smiled. She was glad she found someone at work she could confide in, someone she not only enjoyed spending time with socially, but also an intelligent woman who was confident and capable. Just like her. 

“That sounds great. How about that Thai place around the corner?”

“You read my mind.” The two women walked out of Bulma’s office, chatting about the new product launch and the latest employee gossip. But the only thing that was really on Bulma’s mind was seeing Vegeta again. 

And she  _ would  _ see him again. There was no doubt in her mind.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written for the 2020 Vegebulocracy Reverse Bang.
> 
> Story concept inspired by artwork by the amazing Katschusa
> 
> Beta'd by beta extraordinaire, @ambrosicl

**Chapter 4**

  
  


Three days. It had been three days since he had his near run in with Bulma, and he couldn’t keep his mind off the woman. 

He often found himself reminiscing about high school and all of their little moments they shared. Those memories now kept a space in his mind, that until recently had been preoccupied with his work. 

Work. The thought of his so-called “job” made him laugh. TheTurtle Bar is many things to many people. Most know it as a hole in the wall that happened to sell tolerable alcohol and had karaoke on Friday and Saturday nights. 

Vegeta cringed just thinking about all the drunkards singing “Come Sail Away” for hours on end. 

Master Roshi was a sight to see back in his day. The man had single handedly won the World’s Martial Arts Tournament ten years in a row. He used to run a dojo years ago but nowadays, it was just the bar. Well, he tried to run it anyway. Recently those duties had fallen on the shoulders of himself and two others. Krillin, a long time student of Roshi’s, and also by happenstance an old high school classmate. And Piccolo, who, like Vegeta, had been recently hired by the man. 

Even with the three of them, it was near impossible to keep everything running smoothly. The old man (Vegeta refused to call him master since he never studied under the guy), had practically run both enterprises into the ground with his inept book-keeping skills. It also didn’t go unnoticed that these days you were hard pressed to find Roshi without a bottle in one hand and a nudie magazine in the other. 

It was a sad state of affairs really. A man who had a successful martial arts career and his own dojo, now owned a run down bar in a seedy part of West City.

When the three men saw things were starting to slip, they all agreed (Vegeta reluctantly) to help out and split up the responsibilities. Somehow Vegeta was stuck with the finances and bar security. So now instead of heading out at a decent hour shortly after bar close, he was sitting behind a rickety desk in a glorified utility closet trying to organize everything and make sure the bar was up to snuff. 

Which meant he left work most days by dawn, which also explained why he was now sitting in his car looking across the street at Senzu Cafe, craving a Moroccan dark roast, but ever since he saw that post of Bulma’s on PicGram he had been avoiding the place like the plague. 

The desire to feel the caffeine flood his bloodstream was slowly winning over the thought that he might run into her again. He was ashamed of how he had been acting as of late when it came to her. Women weren’t something he usually stressed about. In fact, his dealings with the opposite sex came quite naturally to him. Especially since he hadn’t had any desire to have a serious relationship in  _ years.  _ Casual had always been the name of the game for him. A game he didn’t even play all that often. . 

But that was the problem. If he let something happen with Bulma, he knew it would most likely become complicated. And the bottom line was that he wasn’t relationship material. 

Same shit, same woman, just a different decade. 

~~~~~~~

_ Eleven years ago _

_ After a wrestling match _

_ They had just won their regional tournament, and still going on the adrenaline high, the team and several friends decided to celebrate with a bonfire at the house of one of their teammates. The guy’s parents never seemed to care what happened at their place as long as they didn’t get so loud the cops needed to be called.  _

_ Tien lived the high life that was for sure. Sitting in Kakarot’s car smushed between Krillin and Bulma in the back, with Chi Chi riding shotgun, they turned onto the horseshoe shaped driveway with the gigantic colonial two story hugging the smooth asphalt. The lawn was manicured, and had season appropriate bushes and blooming plants expertly placed to give off the whole cover of Homes and Gardens magazine vibe.  _

_ They pulled in right behind Tien’s vintage Mustang as they saw him hop out and come around to the window of Kakarot’s beat up Chevy Impala.  _

_ “Hey guys! Come around back, we’ve got a kickass patio and outdoor fireplace. I’ll run in and grab some beers!” He turned and jogged up his front steps.  _

_ They were soon all congregated around a massive sunken fire pit lined with multi colored brick and bench seating that wrapped around. Kakarot quickly took a seat and grabbed his woman to seat her on his lap. It took them no time at all to get affectionate with one another, making Vegeta extremely uncomfortable.  _

_ He took a seat on the wraparound bench as far away from them as he could, sensing that Bulma and Krillin were right behind him, no doubt having similar ideas on seating arrangements.  _

_ As they all sat down, the fire pit sizzled to life. Looking to the house, Vegeta could see Tien had just turned the gas on and had his hands full with two large coolers.  _

_ “Hey, need some help with those?” Krillin yelled as he ran across the back lawn to the house.  _

_ That left just Bulma and him together, with the two lovebirds. Great.  _

_ He could feel her shifting closer to him, until he could see her jean clad leg that was nearly touching his. Alarm bells went off in his head but he kept his outward appearance as calm as possible.  _

_ “You look tense, Vegeta.” Her soft voice easily heard over the crackles of the fire.  _

_ Well, shit. So much for looking calm.  _

_ “You guys just won a big tournament. You should be excited!”  _

_ He finally chanced a look in her direction, and her bright blue eyes filled with happiness that he knew was for him, had him nearly toppling off the bench.  _

_ Schooling his features so she wouldn’t be the wiser to his inner thoughts, he donned his trademark scowl.  _

_ “We’re not out of the woods yet. There’s still the State title, and a lot of hard work ahead of us.” _

_ The brightness in her eyes dimmed a little at his brusqueness, which he always hated. But he knew this was the way it had to be.  _

_ “You have a point. But is it necessary to think about that at this exact moment? Or do you think that maybe, just maybe, you deserve to celebrate? I mean you did win the deciding match tonight, right?” She nudged him with her shoulder, causing goosebumps to erupt down his left arm even through his coat and shirt.  _

_ How did she do that? With one simple platonic touch and friendly words, his walls started coming down. No other person could affect him like she could, and that both excited him and terrified him at the same time.  _

_ He allowed a small smile to escape his mask of indifference.  _

_ “You’ve got a point. I suppose one night of celebration won’t hurt our chances at State.” _

_ “That’s the spirit!” Bulma cheered, actually cheered and threw her arm around his shoulders and squeezed.  _

_ His cheeks burned hotly, and Vegeta was thankful for the cool fall night that he could use as an excuse should anyone say anything about it. And though he wasn’t used to, and normally didn’t appreciate physical contact from others, he allowed her, and himself this moment. Even relished it, for however brief it would be.  _

_ And it was extremely brief. No sooner had she gently squeezed him, then her arm was gone at the sound of the one guy’s voice that he truly despised. _

_ “Hey everyone! Now the party can finally get started!!” Yamcha yelled as he came across the lawn with a large paper bag and accompanied by several other wrestlers and a few of their friends. One of which had a stereo sitting atop their shoulders blasting some hard rock tune.  _

_ “Hi B, you were lookin’ good out there in the stands.” Yamcha came up to her and gave her a hug which Vegeta thought was entirely too long.  _

_ The smile she gave him in return lacked it’s usual vibrance but the idiot didn’t seem to notice.  _

_ “Thanks, Yamcha. You all did really great out there tonight-Oh!” Bulma squealed as she was quickly picked up and plopped down into Yamcha’s lap.  _

_ “We did, didn’t we?” He smirked at her and began tickling her under her jacket. Bulma laughed and tried to get out of his hold.  _

_ It was all too much for him. Vegeta quickly made his retreat over to the outdoor bar area where Tien and Krillin were setting up the drinks, grabbing a beer from the cooler and using the bar top to remove the bottle cap with a *pop* _

_ ~~~~~~~~~~ _

  
  


Screw it. He was getting his damned coffee. 

Nearly slamming his car door off its hinges, he made quick strides up the block to his destination. Feeling intense anger at the memory he just relived. 

The familiar jingle of the shop's bell rang overhead as he stepped in line, noticing there were only a few people ahead of him this morning, which meant he could be in and out in no time. 

He took a quick look around the shop, seeing only a few patrons at the tables scattered about, though one stood out a little more than the rest. It was a woman, wearing a baseball cap and dark sunglasses reading a newspaper. Her hair was tucked up into the cap but he could tell from the few wisps trying to escape, that the color was bright blue. 

He quickly snapped his gaze back toward the line, as he was up next. His initial reaction was anxiety. It was just like a few days ago. His gut was telling him to run, and not to engage. It would only remind him of the life he couldn’t have.

What was she doing wearing that poor excuse for a disguise? Did she honestly think he wouldn’t recognize her? He had always been able to find her in a crowd. 

Maybe, just like her post a few days ago, she had planned to meet him here again. And was disguising herself to surprise him, take him off guard. 

Well, if it was a game of cat and mouse she wanted to play, then that’s what she’d get. It wouldn’t hurt to have some fun with an old friend. 

He quickly paid for and picked up his coffee, trying to seem like a man on his way to work like everyone else, not casting one single glance over his shoulder at the woman he knew was watching his every move like a hawk. 

Once the door to the cafe closed behind him, he knew the chase was on, and his adrenaline and anxiety spiked in anticipation of actually being face to face with her shortly. What would he even say to her after 10 years? 

He sprinted around the corner of the shop, spotting the alley he braced himself up against the wall, keeping out of sight, but close enough that he could still enact his plan.

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~

  
  
  


She knew she had always been a little crazy, but this took the cake. A normal person would just walk up and say “Hi! How are you? I haven’t seen you in years!”

But Bulma Briefs was not normal. So here she was wearing a baseball cap and the kind of sunglasses 90 year old women wore that nearly wrapped around your entire head, and staking out her favorite coffee shop, waiting for the man she secretly had a crush on all these years. 

The first two days yielded no results and she began to reluctantly admit that maybe he didn’t want to see her, that he had no interest in meeting again after all these years. And Bulma wouldn’t blame him if he did. She chose Yamcha over him after all. The reasoning behind that decision was based on her teenage logic which at the time made sense, but now seemed so very stupid. Vegeta didn’t seem to be interested in her, and Yamcha obviously was. So even though her true affection lay elsewhere, she went with the guy that gave her attention. 

If she was being honest with herself, which she had been in recent days, that decision to choose Yamcha over Vegeta was the worst mistake of her life. Now, she had a chance to rectify that and she wasn’t going to give it up. 

  
  


It was agony, watching him stand in line and not make a move. She didn’t know why she couldn’t get up the nerve to stand up and walk over to him, but she didn’t, and now he was walking out the door and it was as if a flame was lit under her. She shot out of her chair, the newspaper in her hand flew to the floor and she ran out the door in pursuit. 

She could see he had turned right, through the glass of the shop entrance, but he was fast. Very fast. And as soon as she set foot on the sidewalk, he was already out of sight. 

Not one to give up easily, Bulma ran down the sidewalk. Hoping she could catch a glimpse of him on a side street. She slowed as she hit the alleyway between the coffee shop and the next building. 

She looked down the alley, and before her brain could register the color of the brick or the black dumpster that smelled of rotting food, her body was tugged toward the shadows of the alley and spun until her back hit the cold hard brick. The breath was nearly knocked from her lungs and her initial reaction was to scream out in surprise but all that happened was a wheezy gasp. it took a few seconds to gain her bearings, but when she did, she was looking into familiar dark eyes, nearly black if you didn’t notice the hues of dark chocolate swirling in their depths.

“Vegeta.” She spoke breathlessly.

His arms were on either side of her head, effectively pinning her in place, but it was the look in his eyes that kept her from moving an inch. The intensity and emotion in his dark but caring gaze made her knees weak and it took every bit of strength she had to stay standing.

“Did you really think you were fooling me with this getup?” He grabbed the bill of her cap with his thumb and forefinger and brought the hat down further over her head. 

Bulma huffed, frowning and grabbed the other side of the bill and forcefully pulled the hat off her head. She threaded her fingers through her locks, trying to get rid of her hat hair. She pulled the ridiculous sunglasses off of her face. Her eyes widened when his words finally registered.

“Hey! If you knew it was me, then why didn’t you say something? Why ignore me?” 

If she didn’t know any better, she would think he was enjoying this. He was smirking at her. His eyes nearly smiling. 

“It was obvious you wanted to make a game out of this, so I decided to play along, Bulma.” Her name on his lips sent shivers down her spine. His voice was deeper, more rough, and extremely sexy.

Trying not to show how affected she was at the mere sound of his voice, Bulma steeled herself, standing as tall as she could despite still being caged in by his thickly muscled arms...

No, she could not let herself get sidetracked by his insanely fit body right now. She had to keep her wits about her. Bulma was always in control, and this conversation would be no different. Who cares about his broad shoulders, his compact and muscled torso that led to a tapered waist and hips. His barely visible stubble covering his chin and jaw giving him that irresistible five o’clock shadow. No, she would not be distracted at all. 

So, now that she was here, looking at his handsome face, all the things she wanted to say began to slip through her fingers. 

“I-Well, I just figured since you hadn’t reached out to me yet, that you weren’t interested in reconnecting again-” Bulma grabbed a tendril of hair and began wrapping it around her finger. “And, I just don’t accept that. So-” She gestured to herself. “Here I am.”

There. Honesty was the best policy after all, right? 

Vegeta freed her from her muscled armed prison, giving her some space as he appeared to mull over what she said. She immediately missed the heat his body seemed to emanate as they grew further apart. 

She watched as his confident smirk that she remembered fondly was replaced by a frown of concern and vulnerability. He looked as if he was battling with himself internally, and it was almost painful to watch. 

Vegeta quickly reached into his pocket grabbing a pack of smokes and a lighter. Tapping the pack with the palm of his hand, he took one out, lit it and took a drag, sighing as the wisps of smoke whirled out of his mouth. 

“I didn’t know you smoked.” 

Their eyes met again and Vegeta looked down just as quickly. “There’s a lot you don’t know, Bulma.”

“I’d like to though. I want to get to know you again Vegeta.” She could feel this situation going in a direction she sincerely hoped it wasn’t. Bulma figured she’d find him and they’d laugh about her silly get up and then they’d reconnect, maybe make plans to get lunch sometime and see where things went from there. 

From the look on his face however, it seemed her well thought out plan was running into some snags. 

“You won’t like what you find out.” He took another drag of his cigarette and looked towards the street, his face now emotionless, as if whatever he was going back and forth about a moment ago was now settled. 

Now that Bulma had a good look at him, she could see that he had indeed changed since they last saw each other. His posture was more straight, rigid even. His eyes looked darker than she remembered. Not physically darker, but rather the kind of darkness that comes from having seen things people shouldn’t have to see. It unnerved her. But she wouldn’t give up. 

“Let me be the judge of that.” She began digging through her bag looking for a pen and one of her business cards. She could feel his eyes on her as she kept digging through the black hole known as her purse. The silence between them was palpable. 

Once she finally found what she was looking for she walked towards him, and placed the business card on his chest, scribbling her number on it. She could feel his muscles tensing underneath her fingers, and she smirked knowing she still had that kind of effect on him, and it didn’t hurt that she was able to get close to him again. Now she was close enough to smell his aftershave and it’s clean, spicy scent was doing a number on her. But she had to keep her wits about her if she wanted to keep the situation under her control. 

“What are you doing?” His voice sounded slightly lower than before. 

“Here, I wrote my cell number on the back. Feel free to call me anytime. I mean it.” 

“Bulma, I-” Vegeta was obviously at a loss for words. Good, she didn’t want to hear whatever gloomy thing it was he had to say. This would not be the end of them. She wouldn’t let it. They could be something great, she felt it in her bones. 

Quickly, she reached up and rested her hand on his upper arm. “It was so good to see you today Vegeta. I hope to hear from you soon, ok?” She gave him her brightest smile, then turned and took the few steps to the opening of the alleyway. Leaving with the upper hand felt good, now she hoped he would take the bait and contact her. 

Normally, she would have just insisted he give her his phone and she’d just enter her number in and make him text her back. However, if she was reading him right, he wouldn’t have let her. He was different now, more standoffish then he was in high school, and that was saying something because he was the definition of a wallflower back then. Something in her gut was telling her to tone down her eccentricities and take things slow. 

She just hoped she was right and that he’d reach out eventually. If not, she’d have to do things her way. Which she knew without a doubt would ruffle his feathers. 

She knew more about him than he wanted to admit. 

  
  



	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written for the 2020 Vegebulocracy Reverse Bang.
> 
> Story concept inspired by artwork by the amazing Katschusa
> 
> Beta'd by beta extraordinaire, @ambrosicl

**Chapter 5**

  
  


It was a slower night than usual at the Turtle Bar, just a few regulars were sitting atop their designated barstools watching the grainy tv’s that were showing the West City Taitan’s baseball game.

When the camera panned to the first baseman, Vegeta growled, causing the haggard old man next to him to raise his head from the bar top. 

“Would ya mind? I’m tryin’ to sleep here!” The man grumbled, his long unkempt beard had pieces of peanut shells nestled in it from the bowl the man had been snacking from earlier that evening. 

“This isn’t a hotel! Go sleep in your own damn bed Frank.” Vegeta shot back.

“Oooh, somebody’s in a bad mood tonight.” Frank teased, his voice lilting in a sing-song manner. “Could it have anything to do with the Taitans playing?” He elbowed Vegeta in the ribcage, his eyebrows wiggling up and down. 

In a split second, Vegeta grabbed the man’s arm, pulled it behind his back and forcefully pushed his body up against the bar top. Frank yelped and began breathing heavily, pleading for the pain to stop. It was evident to all the patrons of Turtle bar that Vegeta had a strong dislike for that particular baseball team, but it would be a cold day in hell before anyone knew exactly  _ why _ he hated them. 

Vegeta leaned in, ignoring the horrid smell of body odor mixed with vodka, and whispered in the man’s ear. 

“Go the fuck home Frank, I’m not asking you again. You can’t sleep here. And stop trying to get into my head.”

Just then Krillin came running in from the storeroom, his eyes comically wide when they fell on the scene before him.

“For Kami’s sake, Vegeta. Stop manhandling our customers!” He yelled, his arms flailing frantically. 

With Frank nodding profusely in agreement, and Krillin drilling holes in his head with his beady little eyes, Vegeta released him. Frank staggered off the barstool and slowly made his way to the door, waving to the other patrons on his way out. 

“Seeee ya fellas!” He slurred. 

When the elderly man got to the door, Vegeta grabbed his harm, keeping him from walking out into the cool spring night. 

“Just hang out on the sidewalk, I’ll call you an Uber. Should be here in a few minutes. It’s on me.” Vegeta spoke softly so no one else would hear. 

Frank nodded in understanding, then turned his head and smiled. “I knew you had some good in you boy. No need to bottle it up.” 

Vegeta didn’t know what to say to that. He nodded back and watched Frank clumsily make his way out the door. 

Walking back to his place at the bar, he noticed every pair of eyes were locked onto him. 

“What?!” He barked, staring back at each person in turn until the intensity permeated the air around them all and they each looked away. 

Sitting back down, he pulled out the now creased and wrinkled business card that had been burning a hole in his pocket for the last week. 

Turning it over in his hands, he read the front of the card for what seemed like the thousandth time. 

  
  


_ Bulma Briefs _

_ Vice President  _

_ Head of Research and Development _

_ Capsule Corporation _

The embossed card with dark gold font looked elegant and professional. Both were qualities he attributed to her. The woman he could never have, and would never deserve. 

On the back of the card was her phone number written in a whimsical cursive, a heart drawn underneath it along with a winking face. It reminded him of the different notebooks she had for their classes in high school. 

“And the Taitans score another run courtesy of number 15, Yamcha Bandit!” The announcer excitedly recounted as the stadium crowd cheered wildly. The roar could easily be heard through the T.V.

Vegeta’s grip on the card tightened at the sound of Yamcha’s name. His surname was quite accurate in his opinion. The man was nothing short of an opportunist who took whatever he wanted whenever it suited his needs, with no consideration to anyone but himself. 

“Hey man. You ok?” 

He looked up to see Krillin standing in front of him, wiping down a beer stein. The man had a tendency to be a bit nosy, but he also knew from experience that the guy actually cared, though Vegeta didn’t understand it one bit. 

“Peachy.” 

“Yea, sure looks like it.” Krillin commented casually as his attention seemed to go back to the glass he was drying, though one eye stayed on Vegeta.

He snorted in amusement. “Wow, Turtle Bar’s very own Sherlock Holmes.” 

Krillin took the sarcastic comment in stride. “Yes, good sir. It is I, Sherlock Holmes, detective extraordinaire at your service.” Doing his best British accent, he tipped an imaginary hat towards Vegeta.

Instead of getting a verbal response from his unsurprisingly tight-lipped and stoic co-worker, Vegeta’s blank, unamused stare told him all he needed to know. Nevertheless, Krillin pressed on. 

“Seriously though, you’ve been working here for what, almost a year now? I like to think I’ve gotten to know you pretty well since then and I haven’t seen you like this since, well..since high school actually.”

That got Vegeta’s attention. Was he really that obvious? Did everyone and their mother know that he had feelings for Bulma all those years ago? 

“I’m guessing you haven’t called her yet?” Krillin motioned his head towards the card laying on the bar top. 

Taking a deep breath, Vegeta ran his thumb over the card absentmindedly. Krillin had seen him looking at the thing a day or two after Bulma had given it to him. That night after the bar closed and one too many shots, Vegeta had told him what had transpired. 

“No. I haven’t.”

“Well why not? You two were friends back in the day. What’s wrong with getting together for dinner or something and reminiscing about old times?” 

He didn’t have an answer for that, at least one he was willing to divulge to Krillin in the middle of a bar. Even if the only people in said bar were old drunkards who would have no idea what they were talking about. 

Shaking his head, Vegeta palmed the card and put it back in his jeans pocket. 

“Need I remind you that Goku, Chi Chi and I hang out with her once in a while. You could always join in. You were part of our group anyway you know. It wouldn’t be weird. We know you’ve been in and out of town due to being in the service and all.”

He rolled his eyes in annoyance. “You don’t need to remind me. I know.”

“Well, the offer stands if you…” The sound of Krillin’s voice was drowned out by the ding of his phone. It was the sound he set up for text notifications. 

The thing was, no one texted him. Except for Tarble that is, and he wouldn’t be messaging him at this hour of the night. 

Fishing his phone out of his back pocket, he saw a text from an unknown number.

_ Unknown: I found you!  _

Vegeta’s brows furrowed in confusion. Hoping to kami that this wasn’t someone from his seal team days coming to haunt him, he decided to reply. 

_ V: Who is this?  _

_ Unknown: Wouldn’t you like to know. ; ) _

Having already wasted most of his patience on Frank and talking with Krillin, he cut to the chase, not in the mood for games. 

_ V: I would actually. Who the fuck are you? _

The three dots indicating the other person was replying appeared on his screen. By this time, Krillin had stopped talking and leaned over the bar. 

“What’s up? Somebody texting you?” Even Krillin was aware that Vegeta lacked any kind of social life. 

“Yea, somebody.”

_ Unknown: Geez, Vegeta! Do you kiss your mother with that mouth? Lol. I’ll give you a clue... _

_ Unknown: I gave you my number a whole WEEK ago and I haven’t heard one word from you. :(  _

She always did have impeccable timing. His stomach instantly tied itself in a knot. He reached out and grabbed Krillin’s arm. 

“Get me some Scotch.” 

“Vegeta, you’re on shift. We’re not supposed to drink when we’re working.” 

“Just do it.”

“Piccolo’s not going to like this.” Krillin warned even as he walked over to the Scotch bottles and picked up Vegeta’s favorite and began filling a tumbler. 

“I’ll deal with him.” Vegeta offered, grabbing the glass from Krillin’s hand the moment it hit the bar top. 

“So who is it? Must be serious if you need a drink.” 

Feeling the amber liquid warm his throat on it’s way down, he savored the feeling before replying. 

“It’s Bulma.”

Krillin’s concerned face gave way to a knowing smirk. Shaking his head, a smile still in place, he picked up the empty glass. 

“I’m not surprised. Patience isn’t one of her strong suits.” 

That was something they apparently both had in common. 

Vegeta watched him walk away to serve one of the customers, then turned his attention back to his phone. Figuring now was as good a time as any, he went into his contacts and added Bulma’s number, then returned to their text thread.

_ B: I thought you were smarter than this Vegeta. ; ) _

He smirked at her response. She did have a habit of wanting to push people’s buttons. 

_ V: Hello, Bulma. How did you get my number?  _

_ B: Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner!  _

_ B: And I’m Bulma fucking Briefs, that’s how. I have my ways.  _

_ V: Now who has the foul mouth?  _

_ V: Why am I not surprised?  _

_ V: What’s my prize then?  _

_ … _

The three dots sat there for what seemed like an eternity, making him rethink his reply. Was he too forward? Did he cross the line between friendly and flirting? He’d never had to do this before. Conversate with women that he had no intention of immediately taking to bed. Even then, those kinds of conversations were few and far between as well. There wasn’t a whole lot of time for that during BUD/S training and then being deployed on mission after mission. 

Why was she taking so long? 

Suddenly the three dots disappeared and in their place was her reply. 

_ B: Dinner with me. Tomorrow night.  _

Well. There was no confusing that overture. Or was there? Dammit! This is why texting is the worst communication form of man, at least it’s up there with email. How were you supposed to read between the lines without hearing the person’s voice? Was she just wanting to get together like Krillin suggested? Or did she want more? 

In the end it didn’t matter though. He had to work. And he couldn’t afford to take a night off. It was a legitimate reason to turn her down, even though the thought of her being disappointed because of him left a bad taste in his mouth. It had to be done. 

_ V: I have to work tomorrow night. I work almost every night.  _

_ B: Well, mister busy bee. Guess I’ll have to bring the dinner to you.  _

Vegeta’s eyebrows rose slightly in surprise. Just what was this woman scheming? 

_ V: I haven’t mentioned where I work.  _

_ B: I know you haven’t. There’s no need. I have my sources. ; ) _

Sources? Now this was getting interesting. 

_ V: What sources?  _

_ B: A lady doesn’t give up her secrets so easily.  _

Before he had a chance to reply, the three dots showed up on his screen again. Deciding that whatever she had to say was more important than a contrived response, he waited. 

**_…_ **

_ B: But if you’re nice...you’ll find out when we have dinner. Though I won’t tell you when I’m coming. It’ll be a surprise.  _

A surprise eh? Bulma seemed to be full of them these days. He typically hated surprises, always wanting to know everything about a situation so he could analyze and respond accordingly. That was the SEAL in him and he knew it was something that would never go away. But with Bulma...it was refreshing, and exciting in a way that he hadn’t experienced before. 

So he’d let her surprise him, for now. 

_ V: Very well. I look forward to seeing you, Bulma. _

_ B: And I you, Vegeta. <3 _

He thumbed off his phone then looked up to the TV to see that the Taitans were now down 3-2. His night suddenly seemed to be going much better. 

Hearing someone cough, he turned to see Krillin with the last patron still in the bar who was closing out his tab. The guy paid cash, waved goodbye to both Krillin and himself, then meandered toward the door. Now it was just the two of them, with Krillin looking quite nervous for some reason. 

“So, how was the chat with Bulma?” Krillin asked without looking at Vegeta. Instead he fiddled with the petty cash in the register. 

“Fine. She’ll be stopping by the bar sometime this week. She plans on bringing some dinner.” Standing from his seat, he walked toward where Krillin was at the end of the bar still not looking him in the eye. 

“Hm, that’s nice of her. It’ll be good for the two of you to catch up.” He replied hurriedly, almost dropping a bottle of liquor he was putting back on the shelf. 

“Yes, very nice. I found it interesting that she knew where I worked when I hadn’t mentioned anything. She also somehow got a hold of my phone number. She mentioned she had a “source.” I don’t suppose you have any idea who this “source” is do you?” He raised one eyebrow in question, crossed his arms and waited for a response. 

Krillin appeared to be sweating bullets now, his eyes frantically going back and forth between Vegeta and the door to the back rooms of the bar.

“Yes, very curious. You know how clever Bulma is. She probably hacked some database or something.” As he finished the sentence he took one miniscule step towards the back door. 

Their eyes locked and both men froze in place. Vegeta broke the tension by slamming his hands down on the bar top. 

“It was you, wasn’t it?” 

Krillin didn’t even answer the question. He scurried toward the back door like a frightened little bunny. 

“You meddling, matchmaking pissant!” Vegeta yelled, making quick strides after his co-worker. 

At least he knew who Bulma’s “source” was now. One less surprise to deal with. This night was turning out to be quite alright after all. The Taitans were losing, he was going to see Bulma, and he got to scare the shit out of Krillin. 

Tonight was a good night indeed. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written for the 2020 Vegebulocracy Reverse Bang.
> 
> Story concept inspired by artwork by the amazing Katschusa
> 
> Beta'd by beta extraordinaire, @ambrosicl
> 
> So sorry for the late posting. I am still in the process of writing this. Life has been a bit chaotic lately.

**Chapter 6**

  
  
  


_ V: Very well. I look forward to seeing you, Bulma. _

_ B: And I you, Vegeta. <3 _

Bulma smiled to herself as she turned off her phone and began getting ready for bed. She was worried that she had been too pushy with him. Knowing how emotionally distant he was in high school and then seeing him last week, She didn’t want to move too quickly too soon. 

Turns out it was just enough. Thank goodness. 

She had never been this forward in her flirting before. Normally men fell at her feet for not only her beauty, but her money as well. So this was an entirely new experience for her. 

The only guys who she thought genuinely liked her for who she was, were Yamcha and Vegeta. Both of whom she’d met right when her father’s tech company was starting to boom, so she didn’t have a lot of money at the time. And yet she was wrong on at least one of those counts. The jury’s still out on Vegeta, but she had high hopes for him. 

Wearing some black sleep shorts and her favorite oversized tee shirt from college, Bulma finished brushing her teeth, and walked back into her bedroom, climbing into her soft king sized bed. 

As she lay there, looking out her balcony windows onto the bright lights of West City, she wondered what Vegeta was doing at that exact moment. Was he thinking about her? Thinking about them? She truly hoped so. 

….

Two days had passed since she and Vegeta had texted, and she was chomping at the bit to go over there and see him. But she had to play her cards right, which meant to give it a little time. Perhaps tonight could work? She smiled to herself as she replayed the events in her mind that led her to getting reacquainted with him. 

She had to do a little bit of detective work to find his phone number and where he worked. It wasn’t that hard. She just started with her friends, who she figured must have had some contact with him. 

Goku was the first person she called, but he wasn’t much help. Said he hadn’t heard from Vegeta in several years but when he was mentioned, the prospect of seeing him again had gotten her old friend very excited. So excited in fact that Bulma heard his wife Chi Chi yell through the phone. 

_ “Vegeta? Why would you want to see his grumpy ass?” _

The ensuing dispute between the long time couple made Bulma chuckle, bringing back memories of the two of them in the cafeteria at lunch time. Chi Chi usually rolled up her napkin and hit Goku in the head with it for eating too much. He’d always laugh it off and bring her in for a hug which eventually doused the flame of her ire. She bid Goku goodbye before she couldn’t contain her laughter any longer. 

The only other person she felt comfortable calling from high school was her friend Krillin. He was a great friend. Always supportive and helpful. Though when push came to shove, he did tend to cave to demands, and Bulma knew just how to make him cave. 

  
  


_ “Krillin, c’mon. I just want his number. And mayyybbee where he works? Pretty please?” _

_ “Gee, I don’t know Bulma. Vegeta’s a pretty private person. Always has been. I don’t think he’d appreciate me giving out his personal details. The only reason I have his number anyways is because he’s working at the Turtle Bar with me now.” _

_ “Aha! That’s perfect! Thanks Krillin! And how about his phone number?”  _

_ “Shit. He’s going to kill me.” _

_ “No he won’t. I wouldn’t let him anyway. Now, the phone number. Give it up.” _

_ “Sorry Bulma, no can do. I have to respect his privacy.” _

_ “Krillin. I didn’t want it to come to this. But I found an old picture from school. You and I were performing a reenactment in history class, remember? The one where you dressed up like Mary Todd Lincoln? I’ll post that online faster than you can blink.” _

  
  


After that, his defenses crumbled. She had thanked him profusely and promised to burn the picture and not tell Vegeta how she’d got his info. 

Everything was going perfectly, and she smiled while thinking of seeing him once again. 

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
  


Sitting on an uncomfortable wooden stool with uneven legs, Vegeta planted one foot on the floor to keep the thing from wobbling. It was Friday, meaning tonight was his least favorite night of the week. 

Since the bar wasn’t in the best financial straits, Krillin decided to start Karaoke on Friday nights and offer 2 for 1 rail drinks, hoping to attract the younger crowd. So who did he hire on to do Karaoke?

The fattest, laziest, dirtiest man he had ever met. Krillin had proudly boasted that the guy would do the job in exchange for some of Master Roshi’s vintage magazines, so that way they wouldn’t be losing any money out of the deal. Though he was unsure if Roshi himself was even aware that his prized collection was growing smaller each week, since he acquired new material frequently. 

Vegeta shook his head in disgust. This arrangement was for two months, at least, so hopefully it would go by quickly. It didn’t change the fact that he had to deal with the unsavory man so often. 

Speaking of the devil himself, the man of the hour had just walked in. 

“Hey Vegeta! What’s happenin’?” The man’s meaty paw landed on Vegeta’s shoulder as he walked by. 

His body instinctively recoiled in the opposite direction. “Don’t touch me!” 

The man looked slightly taken aback, but regained his goofy looking grin in no time. “Good to see you too man.”

“Hey Krillin, Piccolo!” He greeted the two men behind the bar. 

Piccolo nodded his head but said nothing, while Krillin smiled broadly and waved. “Hey Yajirobe! What’s up?”

Setting down his Karaoke machine that was tucked under his arm, Yajirobe sauntered over to the bar and shimmied up onto a stool. 

“Not much. You guys heard of that bean that hit the market recently? It’s supposed to have the same stuff in it as pot but doesn’t get you nearly as high. It makes you all relaxed and shit.”

Suddenly a crash sounded up above, and loud thumps resounded and the door to the back office slammed open. 

“Did somebody say pot?” An old man wearing a brightly colored Hawaiin style shirt, thick red frames and a white pointed beard hobbled in and stood next to Piccolo, his mouth nearly watering. 

Vegeta saw Piccolo roll his eyes and quickly leave out the same door that Master Roshi had just entered. Lucky bastard, he wouldn’t be needed for at least another hour or so. Unlike himself, who had to sit by the door all night. 

“So, where’s the goods?” Master Roshi asked excitedly. 

“What? Nah man I don’t have any. I was just tellin’ Krillin about the new bean though. It’s like a bean with pot in it, but you don’t get super high, I think they’re called CBD beans or somethin’. I’m going to start growing my own and selling ‘em.” Yajirobi said proudly.

“A bean?” Vegeta laughed. “You think you’re going to get rich off of selling beans now?” He continued to chuckle at the absurdity of it. 

Yajirobi stood to defend himself while Roshi’s smile did a 180, not happy to hear there wasn’t any Mary Jane around. 

“Well, I’ll leave you lads to it then. The pilates youtube channel I subscribed to is posting a new video tonight!” He waggled his eyebrows, grabbing a bottle of rum from the back shelf and hobbled back upstairs. 

Krillin and Vegeta watched Roshi retreating, and when Vegeta’s gaze moved to Krillin he saw a sadness lurking there underneath his normal jovial expression. 

“Oh Roshi, he’s a hoot huh?” Krillin commented to no one in particular. 

Vegeta shook his head and lost interest in the ensuing conversation between the other two men. 

As the occasional customer came through and Vegeta checked ID’s, his thoughts strayed to Bulma. He hadn’t heard from her in several days now and lately he’d found himself more often than not, thinking about her. What she was doing, where she was, who she was with. He was surprised that she hadn’t contacted him again. And he further surprised himself that he wanted her to. 

As he stamped a turtle shell onto the hand of a grungy looking man clad in biker attire; leather vest, and Harley Davidson tee shirt, he scowled and reminded himself that a relationship with her just wasn’t possible. He couldn’t give her what she needed, and it loathed him to think that now just as much as it loathed him back then. 

  
  


_ Eleven Years Ago _

_ The West City High School football team had just won a spot in the regional playoffs. Vegeta, Goku, Krillin, Chi Chi, Bulma and Yamcha were all in attendance. The latter five people cheered on their home team with gusto. Vegeta couldn’t bother himself with standing up along with the rest of the crowd. Even though he found football to be a decent sport in and of itself, this was the last place he wanted to be. All because of who was seated three spots down from him.  _

_ Lately Yamcha had not so subtly joined their circle of friends. Tagging along when they went out to eat after matches or hanging out on the weekends. His overly charismatic persona was laid on thick, and for some reason they were all falling for it. But Vegeta could see the truth behind the thin veneer. Yamcha didn’t truly want to befriend them. He had ulterior motives. Vegeta was sure of it. It was especially clear everytime he looked at Bulma, with heat in his eyes. It made Vegeta sick. She deserved better.  _

_ As the crowd began to disperse he could overhear Yamcha speaking to Bulma.  _

_ “Hey sweetness, Me, Tien and some of the wrestling guys are going to head over to the diner near the university. Wanna come?”  _

_ He had slung his arm around Bulma’s shoulders and could see that she was taken off guard. Vegeta’s eyes narrowed, but they stayed glued on the scene just a few feet away from him.  _

_ “I don’t know, Yamcha. I came here with them.” Bulma gestured over towards himself, baldy and the two lovebirds. “We were planning on hanging out at Chi Chi’s house.” _

_ Now that was interesting. He hadn’t heard about any plans to hang out afterward. Just what was she scheming?  _

_ Yamcha looked surprised by her response. He obviously didn’t hear the word ‘no’ very often. He appeared to squeeze her shoulder gently.  _

_ “C’mon Bulma. You always hang out with them. They aren’t your only friends you know. Come to the diner with me.” _

_ Bulma smiled politely but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I know, but I don’t like to just skip out on plans I’ve already made with people. We can go to the diner another time ok?”  _

_ He could see Yamcha’s eyebrows furrough in frustration for a moment before he plastered his sickly sweet smile back on his face.  _

_ “It’s not a big deal Bulma.” Sugar dripped from his voice. “Just tell them you’ll hang out another time. Let’s get going, Tien and the guys are waiting, they just texted me.” _

_ He began to lead Bulma towards the aisle of the bleachers, and when she turned back, her eyes locked with his and Vegeta knew he had to act. The look on her face said she had no desire to join the bastard.  _

_ He stood quickly, maneuvering past the legs of Goku and Chi Chi who were entangled in a lip lock, and Krillin’s who was playing snake on his phone.  _

_ In a few quick strides he reached them and put his hand softly on Bulma’s elbow, her head turned immediately and he could’ve sworn he saw a little bit of relief in her eyes.  _

_ “I believe she said she had other plans.” He spoke with all the authority he could muster, which he knew normally would send guys running scared with their tails between their legs. Yamcha did look startled, but also determined.  _

_ “And I told her it’s no big deal. You guys hang out all the time. One night away isn’t going to hurt.”  _

_ At hearing Yamcha’s insistence, Bulma pulled out of his grasp and took a step back towards Vegeta. Seeing her move away from him, Yamcha’s ever present good mood started to fade, and Vegeta could see he was going to switch tactics.  _

_ “Yamcha, I said I had plans with them and I plan on keeping those. We can go to the diner with your friends another night ok?” Bulma said sharply, clearly no longer willing to put up with his demands.  _

_ He put up his hands in a placating gesture. “Ok, Ok. No problem. I didn’t mean to pressure you or anything, really. That sounds good. We’ll do a raincheck on the diner, ok?  _

_ Vegeta could see the tension physically leave Bulma’s body at Yamcha’s acquiescence. “Sure, that sounds fine. Have a good night.” She waved and smiled softly at him, trying to show she still had her wits about her.  _

_ “Yea, later Bulma. Vegeta.” He looked less than enthused to even acknowledge he was there. Vegeta chuckled to himself. It was so obvious the guy wanted to get into Bulma’s pants. Thankfully that wouldn’t be happening anytime soon. The guy gave Vegeta a bad vibe.  _

_ As Yamcha disappeared amongst the thinning crowd on the bleachers, Bulma turned towards him, her eyes shining with gratitude under the bright lights of the football field.  _

_ “Thank you, Vegeta. I appreciate what you did.” The moment the words left her lips she threw herself into his arms, wrapping her own around his back tightly.  _

_ The air was sucked right out of him at the surprise gesture. He felt supremely uncomfortable and didn’t have any idea what to do, but his body obviously did because his arms seemed to enfold around her of their own accord.  _

_ The embrace was quick, Bulma pulled back first and then sat down. Momentarily stunned, Vegeta blinked his eyes a few times before settling down next to her.  _

_ “You know, this is the first time he’s ever acted like that. Yamcha’s always been so kind and considerate. I didn’t know what to do.” _

_ She kept her head down and was staring at her thumbs as they rubbed against one another.  _

_ “Hey guys, everything all right?” Goku appeared, standing next to Vegeta with Chi Chi and Krillin behind him.  _

_ Bulma spoke up before Vegeta could. “Oh, we’re fine. Just talking. Have a great night you guys, see you in class tomorrow!”  _

_ “Ok, yea see you tomorrow!” Goku led the way as the three of them said their goodbyes and made their way down the bleachers.  _

_ Vegeta remained silent until their group of friends was out of sight, but he needed her to know that Yamcha didn’t just want to be friends, but rather much more. “He wants you, Bulma.” _

_ Her head snapped up, eyes wide, eyebrows raised and her mouth formed a perfect little O. Damn she was adorable.  _

_ “I know he likes to flirt, I’ve seen him flirt tons of times with other girls, I thought that’s just how he acts.” _

_ He could see her trying to justify Yamcha’s actions in her head and he needed to put a stop to that right now.  _

_ “Bulma, I don’t know the guy that well so I can’t say this with full certainty, but a guy doesn’t look at a girl the way he looks at you if he only wants to be friends. Just…” _

_ Shit, how could he say this without giving away his feelings. He could be a selfish jerk and throw Yamcha under the bus, making room for himself, but deep down he knew he wasn’t good enough for Bulma. He didn’t express his feelings, he didn’t show affection, the awkward hug being a rare exception. He wouldn’t know what to do in a relationship. His parents were the worst example of one known to humankind. Bulma deserved someone who could shower her with attention and love, and that just wasn’t him.  _

_ “Just what?” She had apparently been waiting for him to finish his sentence. He looked in her bright blue eyes and was surprised to see...hope there? Was he reading too much into that look in her eyes? Could she possibly feel the same way he did?  _

_ Sighing, he decided the concerned friend approach would be best.  _

_ “Just be careful.” _

_ The smile she gifted him with reached her eyes and consequently made his stomach tie itself in knots.  _

_ She reached for his hand and threaded her fingers with his. He allowed her this contact knowing it might be the only thing he’d ever get.  _

_ “Thank you, I will. Yamcha’s a good guy, he just...well he’s very enthusiastic and he doesn’t always think about how his actions will impact others.” _

_ He wanted to reply to that, but anything he said would only show himself in a bad light. And despite the fact that he knew they couldn’t be anything more than friends, he still wanted her to think of him as a decent person.  _

_ Silence enveloped them for a few minutes, but it wasn’t awkward. Vegeta felt rather comfortable in the quiet, just holding her hand.  _

_ She suggested they head to the parking lot, and since Kakarot was his ride, he would now have to either ask Bulma, which he really didn’t want to do, or catch the bus down the block.  _

_ As they walked toward the parking lot he felt in his pocket and found he had enough money for bus fare thank goodness. They reached her vehicle and she turned around to face him once she fetched her keys from her purse.  _

_ She suddenly looked a little nervous and Vegeta had no idea why she should be.  _

_ “Um, Vegeta?” _

_ “Yea?” _

_ “Can I ask you something?” _

_ The hairs on the nape of his neck bristled, his instincts telling him to be on guard. Swallowing the lump in his throat he was able to get out one word, though it sounded strangely hoarse.  _

_ “Sure.” _

_ Bulma fiddled with her car keys a bit, seeming unsure of what to say. “Well, I um...well you see...I’ve been thinking…” _

_ Oh Kami. What has she been thinking? Vegeta could feel sweat beginning to form along his hairline and his whole body tensed up as if an archer was pulling their bow back, ready to shoot. _

_ “Yea…?” He prodded. She was adorable when she was nervous, twirling that lock of hair from her ponytail around her finger, grabbing her car keys so tightly her knuckles were turning white with the force. The way she bit her plump bottom lip with her top teeth… _

_ Then suddenly a fire lit in her eyes and the nervousness was gone, replaced by sheer determination. She licked her lips and Vegeta nearly groaned at the sight.  _

_ “The homecoming dance is tomorrow night, and I’d like to go with you.” She spoke with confidence, though the words came out rather quickly.  _

_ That lump that was in his throat became a rock that sunk down to the pit of his stomach. Before he could even process everything and reply, she spoke up again.  _

_ “And just so you know, whatever your answer is, I hope we can still be friends. I like you Vegeta. I….really like you, and I think you like me too.” _

_ She knows.  _

_ Alarm bells went off in his head. She fucking knows. How could she know? Was he really that transparent?  _

_ This was the moment that he’d been dreaming about late at night. Of he and Bulma together, going to dances, walking down the halls together between classes. He had never considered himself as such a romantic sap, but Bulma seemed to bring it out in him.  _

_ He wanted nothing more than to say yes to her. To see that smile light up her entire face, and know he was the one that put it there. But all he could think about were the million and one reasons why he shouldn’t. If this one dance turned into something more, than he would have to share things about himself with her. Things he wasn’t comfortable sharing. His situation at home was horrid, and his prospects for after high school didn’t look much better.  _

_ But the look on her face as she continued to wait for his response was quickly eating away at all the rational reasons for saying no. Her big blue eyes were wide and her keys were jingling quietly due to her hands trembling slightly.  _

_ Which is why the next word came out of his mouth.  _

_ “Sure.” _

_ And there was that beautiful smile that could melt the coldest of ice. Bulma looked as if she wanted to jump up and down but seemed to rein herself in enough to just roll up onto the balls of her feet.  _

_ “Really? Oh Vegeta! That’s great! I’m so excited!”  _

_ Once again, She threw her arms around Vegeta, the movement causing her pony tail to swish back and forth, carrying the fragrance of her shampoo to Vegeta’s nose. The floral and lavender scent was intoxicating, making him want to bury his face into the crook of her neck to see if her skin smelled just as sweet.  _

_ Bulma stepped back from their embrace and smiled sweetly at him.  _

_ “Pick me up tomorrow at 7pm?”  _

_ “Yea, 7pm sounds good. Goodnight Bulma.”  _

_ “Night, see you tomorrow.” _

_ As he watched her car leave the parking lot he was filled to the brim with emotions, but one thing stood out above all the others.  _

_ Where was he going to get a car? _

_ ………………………………. _

  
  


_ Present day _

  
  


As the memory began to fade, Vegeta nearly allowed a smile to form, but caught it just in time as some college aged guys walked up wanting to gain entrance.

He checked ID’s and waved them through. 

That night of the football game was the first time in his life that he felt truly  _ wanted, needed  _ even. Something that he hadn’t felt since. 

Pulling his phone out, he checked the time. It was a half hour until last call. Needing to get some fresh air for a minute, he pushed the door open and stepped outside. The crisp cool air of spring time blew through his hair, he breathed it in, thankful for a moment of calm. 

  
  


The moment was short lived however. The sound of a motorcycle cut through the air and he looked to his right to see someone pulling into the public parking lot at the end of the block. The bike looked much too sleek and modern to be one of the regulars from the bar. 

A few minutes later he saw a slim figure walking up the street, still wearing their helmet, a black leather jacket, white tee, and tight dark jeans. They were carrying a rather large brown paper bag. 

As the person got closer, Vegeta could see it was a woman by the curve of her hips in the tight denim, as well as the roundness of her breasts under the shirt. Her pace got faster as she came closer and she stopped a few feet from him. 

Putting down the bag, she lifted her helmet and a waterfall of bright blue hair spilled out, nearly taking Vegeta's breath from his lungs. 

Bulma. 

He had never seen her dressed like this, and it was doing things to him he didn’t want to admit to. He could feel his cock getting harder and adjusted his stance to try to subtly hide the evidence of his growing arousal. 

She smiled brightly, and picked up the paper bag with the logo for a very trendy restaurant inked on the front. 

“Hey! You Hungry?” She shook the bag a little. 

“Hi. Yeah, I am actually.” 

Hungry indeed. 

  
  



	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written for the 2020 Vegebulocracy Reverse Bang.
> 
> Story concept inspired by artwork by the amazing Katschusa
> 
> Beta'd by beta extraordinaire, @ambrosicl

**Chapter 7**

  
  


Seeing him with the low light of the streetlamp above, Bulma could feel the butterflies taking residence in her stomach, along with the hunger pangs from purposely not eating much after work. She had wanted to wait so she could eat with him, though now she was starting to regret that decision, hoping that her stomach wouldn’t start protesting too loudly. 

He looked utterly masculine in his tight black shirt with the Turtle bar logo, dark jeans and black boots. The shirt itself was almost comical with the over emotive turtle on the front wearing a hawaian shirt, but it didn’t take away from the air of authority, strength and mystery that he wore like a second skin. 

She was relieved at seeing he was clearly as famished as she was, and smiled for him as he held the door open for her so she could walk inside. 

As her feet touched the stained concrete floor of the bar, she looked to her left to see Krillin fixing a drink for someone. As if he could feel her eyes on him, he looked up and smiled brightly at her as he passed the mug across the bartop. 

Bulma waved to him and was about to make her way over to the bar when she felt a presence behind her, as if a warm blanket had enveloped her from shoulders to hips. She knew who it was even before she turned her head to the side to confirm it. 

Vegeta stepped forward and took hold of her helmet and the bag of takeout. Their fingers brushed against one anothers as he did so and a jolt of electricity seemed to flow through her body at the contact. 

The look on his face, though tightly controlled, showed her he just felt the same thing. 

Just as he was clearly going to speak, he was interrupted by Krillin. “Bulma! Hey! Didn’t expect to see you here. How’s it goin’?”

Broken out of her Vegeta induced trance, Bulma smiled and walked towards the bar while Vegeta made his way to the back office, presumably setting down their dinner somewhere. He returned moments later to her side and leaned close to speak to her, his fingers whispering over the skin of her upper arm. 

“I’ve still got about a half hour left. I’ll be right through there.” His breath tickled her ear and caused her skin to bristle into goosebumps as he motioned to the front door of the bar. 

She nodded. “Okay. Sounds good.” The words coming out more breathy than she intended. She watched as he walked back towards the entrance for a moment, both for the great view of his backside and also to try to compose herself, then turned her attention back to her friend.

“Hiya Krillin! Just stopping by to see Vegeta actually.” She motioned around herself, gesturing to the bar. “So this is the place huh? Turtle Bar? Not bad!” 

Krillin laughed, resting his elbows on the bartop. “You don’t have to butter me up Bulma. I work here. I know how much of a dive it is.”

“It’s not a dive, It...has character.” 

“Well, that’s one way to put it. So can I get you anything? It’s on the house, of course!”

Considering she hadn’t had anything to eat since lunchtime and it was common knowledge that one drink got her heavily buzzed, it wouldn’t be the wisest decision, but she couldn’t very well decline the kindness of a friend. 

“Sure, a hard cider would be great. Thanks Krillin.”

As Krillin handed her a cold bottle, she turned around, leaned her back against the bar top and finally took a look around the place. The walls were covered in maple wood paneling that was littered with what she could only assume were dart holes, old posters of martial arts tournaments and beer stains. The opposite wall had a few booths covered in cracked and faded tufted plastic, their stuffing fighting to escape the seams.

“Last call for alcohol and Karaoke.” A grizzly voice that reminded her of a middle aged surfer from Cali came through really poor quality speakers. 

Looking towards the sound, Bulma confirmed it was actually just one speaker, the size of a shoe box, the microphone attached by a four foot cable. There was no actual stage, just the space from clearing away a few tables. 

Of all the things she had wanted to do and all the things she’d already done in her 28 years of life, karaoke was still on her to do list. Looking around the bar there weren’t a ton of people. Just a table of college aged guys close to the door and a few older gentlemen seemed to be more interested in the bottom of their glasses than their surroundings. 

Perfect. Bulma didn’t know if it was the half drunk bottle of cider, or her excitement at being able to spend some time with Vegeta, but she suddenly felt the impulse to sing her heart out. 

Striding over to the Karaoke guy, cider in hand, she made eye contact with him, which made him look left and right then back to her as if to confirm she was actually looking his way. 

Bulma giggled and nodded. “Hey, so I’d like to sing a song if there’s still time.”

“Oh. Yea. A s-song. Sure.” Yajirobe stuttered. “What song?” 

Tapping her chin in thought, Bulma’s eyes lit up when the perfect song came to her. Not noticing that the man seemed disappointed that she only wanted to sing karaoke. 

“I know! Don’t Stop Believin’, Journey!” 

Yajirobe’s eyes widened and he smiled big. “Journey? Hell yeah! You got it!” He leaned over and set up the song, then handed her the microphone. 

“Just remember the cord’s not that long yeah?” 

Bulma nodded and watched the lyrics appear on the small screen next to the amplifier. Her adrenaline started coming in waves, getting stronger as the piano intro continued. 

Taking a deep breath she whispered “Here goes nothing.” as the table of college guys looked up at the sound of the song, and brought the mic within an inch of her lips.

_ “She’s just a small town girl, _

_ livin’ in a lonely world.  _

_ She took the midnight train goin’ aannywhere.” _

The guys at the table began cheering, lifting their beers, and giving her much needed confidence. 

_ “Just a city boy, _

_ born and raised in south Detroit. _

_ He took the midnight train goin’ aannywhere.” _

By this point, even the old men at the bar had turned around in their seats and looked on in what Bulma assumed was mild interest. 

“Sing it Blue!” a young man with blond curly hair yelled through his cupped hands, followed by a wolf whistle. 

She took a quick swig of her beer, then winked at blondie before continuing on with the next verse. 

_ “A singer in a smoky room.  _

_ The smell of wine and cheap perfume.  _

_ For a smile they can share the night, it goes on and on and on and oooon.”  _

Bulma gestured for the room to join her in the bridge, the sound of slurred male voices joined with her own soprano one.

_ “Strangers, waiting _

_ Up and down the boulevard _

_ Their shadows searching in the niiiight” _

_ “Street lights, people. _

_ Livin’ just to find emotion _

_ Hidin’ somewhere in the NIIIGGGHT” _

The entire bar joined in on the chorus, including Krillin, and if she wasn’t mistaken, the big tall silent guy standing next to him too. Though it was hard to confirm if he was really singing along or talking to himself with the dim lighting.

_ “Don’t stop, Believin’ _

_ Hold on to that feelin’ _

_ Street light, peeooople”  _

She sang through the chorus again and saw Vegeta out of the corner of her vision. Leaning against the bar, his arms crossed over his chest and a sexy smirk plastered on his face. 

Making eye contact with him, she blew him a kiss between lyrics. His expression didn’t change but she noticed he was looking at her more intensely, which only increased the number of butterflies in her stomach from earlier. 

As the song came to an end, she was treated to a standing ovation from the college guy table. Bulma took a bow to the cheers of an encore. 

“Thank you thank you! And now for my next song!” She looked over to Yajirobe, who began shaking his head no to Bulma’s disappointment. She didn’t even get a chance to argue with the man when she felt a hand on her arm gently guiding her towards the back door of the bar which caused the college guy table to ring out with boos, which only made her laugh. 

“Hey! What gives-Oh, hi Vegeta! Ready to eat?” With the performance high she was still riding, Bulma felt like she wanted to bounce off the walls. 

“ Yeah. Me and every other guy in here. Let’s go.”

He led her through the back door and through a small hallway, going through a door to their left that opened up into an office with paperwork scattered all over the desk and the bag of takeout and her helmet on top of that. He let go of her arm and reached under the desk, coming up with a beer, a bottle of water and a black backpack. Picking up the bag of take out, he handed her the water and led her back out of the office. 

Bulma followed his lead, not sure where they were going. She expected to eat in the bar. She also expected him to say something about her karaoke performance but was being given the silent treatment. As they approached a door that opened up to a flight of stairs, she decided to break the silence.

“So, what did you think of my performance?” 

Vegeta huffed out a laugh and turned his head to the side so she could see his face, as he was a few steps above her. “Is that what you call it? Sounded like a dying bird to me.” 

They reached the top of the stairs and Bulma playfully slapped him on his back. “Really? C’mon it couldn’t have been that bad.” She tried to force some humor into her tone, considering his words stung a little. 

Pushing the final door open Vegeta stood aside and motioned for her to go through. His usual cocky, confident expression dropped slightly as he took in her face, morphing into...was that a smile? Good lord, she had forgotten how handsome he looked when he smiled. 

“No, it wasn’t. You’re no Steve Perry, but it wasn’t too bad.” 

“Glad you enjoyed it.” Bulma laughed lightly and looked in front of her to avoid any awkwardness as she walked through the entrance to a surprisingly nice view of downtown West City. 

They were on the roof of the bar. 

She followed Vegeta to a spindly looking metal table with two mismatched chairs. They took out the food Bulma had brought; 3 different 6 packs of sliders and two side orders of fries with a creamy aioli sauce for dipping. 

“I remembered you had quite the appetite and well, just assumed it would only have gotten worse since then.”

He smiled then, no teeth but a smile nonetheless and Bulma knew there was no other place she’d rather be tonight. 

“You’re not wrong.” He replied as he continued getting everything ready. Sliding the backpack off his shoulders, he unzipped it and dug inside, bringing out some camping style plates and cutlery. 

“Are you always this prepared?” 

“Most of the time, yes.” Their eyes locked as he replied and Bulma had this gut feeling that he wasn’t just talking about bringing plates and knives and forks. 

They began to dig into their food and fell into a companionable silence for a few minutes, which Bulma found wasn’t awkward in the least. She had always felt comfortable just being with him and tonight felt no different. Well, except for the sexual tension, but she was pushing that to the side tonight in favor of trying to reestablish their friendship, though it was admittedly difficult. 

“So, how long have you been back in town?”

Vegeta swallowed a bite of burger and took a swig from his beer. “Going on 9 months now.”

“9 Months? Really? And we’re just now hanging out!?” She nearly yelled. 

He looked just as surprised by her outburst as she was. Taking another drink, Vegeta leaned back in his chair, never stopping his eye contact with her. He was waiting for an explanation clearly. 

Bulma sighed, grabbed a fry and began absentmindedly twirling it through the dip. “Sorry, I...I don’t know. Just seeing you again after all these years, It’s...it’s good to see you. I guess I didn’t expect to hear that you’ve been in town for so long without reaching out or something.”

He leaned his elbows on the tabletop, sliding his beer out of the way. “Yeah, well...I didn’t think I’d get a very warm reception.”

The look on her face must have appeared just as puzzled as she felt, since Vegeta continued on. 

“You know, the whole…” He made a waving gesture with his arm. “Dance incident.”

Eyes widening in recognition, she nearly spit out her last sip of water. “Dance incident? You mean that homecoming dance?”

He looked away and the barest hint of pink dusted his cheeks. He merely nodded at her question. 

“Vegeta! That was so long ago! You can’t possibly think I’d still be so upset that I wouldn’t want to see you.”

“The thought has crossed my mind. A lot actually.”

Shaking her head, Bulma grabbed her water bottle and his beer. She spotted two reclining lawn chairs on the other side of the small roof and motioned for him to follow. Handing him his beer, she made herself comfortable on the rickety lounger and took a drink of her water. 

“I’m not going to lie. I was quite upset for a while. But a lot has come to pass between then and now. I guess the only thing I still want to know is...what happened?”

She watched as he rested one arm behind his head, bicep flexing. He took a drink of his own and breathed deeply, readying himself to go back in the past to what appeared to be a sensitive subject for him.

“That night was just as bad for me as it probably was for you…”

_ Eleven Years Ago _

_ Night of the homecoming dance _

_ He had it all planned out. As best as he could considering the circumstances. His father, Vegeta Sr. never let him use his car, but it wasn’t even a question that he would rather risk a confrontation with his father over bringing Bulma to the dance on public transit.  _

_ His parents were in the living room watching reruns of Law And Order. Their typical Friday night.  _

_ Tarble was in his room, headphones blasting some awful pop song he himself had the misfortune of hearing on the radio recently.  _

_ With a duffle bag over his shoulder that contained his one suit that he owned, he looked himself over in the bathroom mirror, deciding that his hair was about as good as it was going to get, and walked down the hall towards the living room.  _

_ “Hey Geets! Where you goin’?” Tarble’s head popped out from his bedroom door, his headphones hanging around his neck.  _

_ Stopping three feet short of the living room, Vegeta didn’t even turn his head as he replied. “Out.” _

_ Obviously disappointed by that answer, Tarble just frowned at him. “Pfft. Whatever Geets.” And went back to his room.  _

  
  


_ Feeling relieved that his brother didn’t feel like prying into his plans, he continued on light feet through the living room. Peeking through the kitchen to the den, he could hear the familiar “dun dun” of his parent’s favorite show, and knew that they’d be preoccupied for the evening.  _

_ As deftly as possible, he grabbed his father’s car keys from the kitchen counter and quietly slid out through the door to the attached garage, hoping that, like usual, no one would care where he was tonight.  _

_ Right outside the Briefs’ residence, he parked the car in front of Bulma’s house and reached into his duffle bag in the passenger seat. Shucking off his leather jacket- he already had a white button down shirt on-he grabbed the suit pants and jacket and clumsily put them on, having to recline the seat back and shimmy into them.  _

_ Belt buckle and shoes in place, the last piece was the tie. He had watched a tutorial online earlier that night but it didn’t help much, that and the fact he only had his car visor’s mirror to aid him only made his frustration mount.  _

_ Getting tired of it and not wanting to waste any more time, He threw the tie down on the center console, stuffed the duffle in the back seat, grabbed the small bouquet of flowers he picked up at the gas station,and walked up to her door.  _

_ Taking a deep breath, he let all the tension and worries of the night disappear through his exhale, and knocked.  _

_ The click clack of heels on hardwood floors preceded the door being opened. Vegeta wasn’t sure what to expect of Bulma’s mother, but a sunny looking blond who seemed to be not much older than Bulma herself and straight out of a 1950’s Sears catalog was not it. _

_ The woman squealed in delight at seeing him and quickly turned her head to speak back into the house.  _

_ “Bulma dear! Your date’s here!”  _

_ She reached out and placed her hand on his upper arm and nearly dragged him into the foyer.  _

_ “Come on in. Bulma will only be a moment.”  _

_ He could only nod in response at the effervescent woman in front of him who was bristling with excitement.  _

_ Still gently squeezing his bicep, Bulma’s mother smiled wide, causing her eyes to nearly close. “Wow, you must work out a lot huh? Oh, but of course you do! Bulma mentioned you’re on the wrestling team.” _

_ The comment took him off guard. Bulma had talked about him to her mother? He wondered what else she might have mentioned to her.  _

_ “I’m Bunny, and you must be Vegeta.”  _

_ Hearing his name, he focused his vision enough to see the woman holding out her hand in greeting. He took the dainty palm in his own and shook.  _

_ “Yes, I am. Nice to meet you...Bunny You have a lovely home.” _

_ She blushed at the praise. “Why thank you Vegeta! What manners and charm! If I was twenty years younger…” But she didn’t get to finish the sentence, thank goodness, because it was interrupted by a loud sharp voice from above.  _

_ “Geez mom! Way to be creepy!”  _

_ Looking up the stairs to the landing, his eyes came upon the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen.  _

_ Bulma was standing with one hip cocked, and her arms crossed, a look of reproach covered her youthful face.  _

_ She was wearing a navy blue mermaid style dress with a sweetheart neckline that displayed a hint of cleavage. The material itself seemed to glitter under the light. It beautifully emphasised her figure, adding fuel to his heated dreams he knew he’d have tonight.  _

_ Bunny dismissed her daughter’s admonishment with a flick of her wrist and changed the subject.  _

_ “Bulma sweetie you look lovely! Doesn’t she look lovely, Trunks?” She yelled over her shoulder.  _

_ A voice came from a room to his left. “Absolutely stunning, yes dear.” _

_ Vegeta turned his head to see an older looking man sitting on a sofa, his head had been buried in a book but at Bunny’s voice he had looked up, nodded, then returned to his reading.  _

_ Was that Bulma’s father? He looked old enough to be her grandfather! And he wasn’t even interested in who was taking his teenage daughter out to a dance? He supposed though he shouldn’t be surprised. His own father showed just as little interest in his own activities.  _

_ He brought his attention back to the foyer, where Bulma had just come down the last step and now stood right in front of him.  _

_ Gulping down his nerves, he handed her the bouquet. “You look nice, Bulma.”  _

_ She smiled warmly and accepted the flowers. “Thanks, you don’t look so bad yourself. You clean up good.” Bulma reached out and smoothed the collar of his shirt over the lapels of his suit coat.  _

_ He could hear her mother cooing and sighing with delight and tried his hardest not to blush out of embarrassment.  _

_ “Aren’t you two just the cutest? Let me get a picture before you go! Don’t you move a muscle now!”  _

_ After posing for one too many pictures, they were ushered out of the house by Bulma’s mother, who kept waving at them until his car was already out of the driveway and out of site.  _

_ Bulma sighed in apparent relief. “I’m sorry about my mom. I love her, but she can be a bit much.”  _

_ Vegeta kept his face towards the road but looked out of the corner of his eye a moment. “Nothing to be sorry about. She seems like a great mom.” _

_ She smiled and sank back into the seat. “She is. But she can also be super annoying and kind of inappropriate. I can’t believe she flirted with you!” Bulma laughed out.  _

_ He chuckled. “Not gonna lie. That was a little weird.”  _

_ “I know right?”  _

_ As she relaxed a little more and settled into her seat, her hand rested on top of his rolled up necktie. _

_ “What’s this? Oh did you forget to put on your tie?” _

_ “Well, no. I didn’t forget. I just decided not to.” He didn’t want her to know that he couldn’t tie his own tie.  _

_ She raised her eyebrow in suspicion but only responded with. “Ah, I see.” _

_ A little later, they arrived at the venue, which was a swanky hotel that the school had rented out. Lit up in hues of gold, the entrance even had a red carpet.  _

_ Right after he helped her out of the car, she reached behind her and produced the dreaded piece of fabric and began putting it around his neck.  _

_ “What are you doing?” _

_ “Tying your tie.” She looked him in the eyes, hers were sparkling like diamonds.  _

_ “My mom says a good woman should know how to tie a man's tie.”  _

_ “Mphmm, does she?” _

_ Nodding in answer, Bulma finished knotting the tie and smoothing it down over his shirt, leaving goosebumps in her wake as if she was touching his bare skin.  _

_ “You really do look handsome tonight Vegeta.” Smiling warmly at him, she lifted her face up and swiftly, but sweetly kissed him on the cheek.  _

_ She took a step back and blushed, while he was frozen on the spot in shock. His whole face felt like it was on fire, but especially where her lips had touched his skin.  _

_ “Well,we better head in huh?” He quickly mumbled. Wanting to change the subject to safer topics, ones that didn’t involve focusing his attention on her blushing cheeks or plump pink lips.  _

_ “Yes, sounds like a good idea.” _

_ Walking up to the entrance arm in arm with her, Vegeta couldn’t help but be nervous. He never did anything like this before. He hadn’t even gone on a date with a girl before. It was all starting to get a little overwhelming, especially after that kiss. Every move of his limbs seemed robotic and stiff.  _

_ Right before they walked through the large double doors, Bulma pulled him aside.  _

_ “Are you alright? You seem a little nervous.” _

_ He cleared his throat. “I’m fine.” _

_ Vegeta could see she clearly wasn’t buying it, just like she knew he didn’t just choose to not wear a tie. But she was purposely not bringing it up, which he appreciated immensely.  _

_ “Ok, well I’m kind of nervous myself to be honest. Let’s just go in there and have a good time alright? No pressure or anything, just two friends spending some time together.” _

_ Now it was his turn to read between the lines. He knew this night meant more to her than just two friends at a dance, because it meant more than that to him too and her body language spelled it out for him. But if that’s what she needed to say to calm her nerves, he wouldn’t fight her on it.  _

_ “Sounds good to me.” He smiled down at her and gave her his arm once more and they walked inside.  _

_ The night so far had been...fun. He couldn’t remember a time when he had so much fun. They had run into Kakarot and Chi Chi and the two couples danced side by side, though Vegeta merely swayed back and forth while the girls and Kakarot were much more flamboyant with their moves. Watching her dance around, smile and laugh was the highlight of his night.  _

_ The girls had just left to get them all punch from the refreshments table at the far end of the room, while he and Kakarot sat down at a table near the door.  _

_ “Phew! Man, am I tired! Who knew dancing could be such a workout!” Kakarot laughed as he pulled his shirt out of his waistband and wiped his sweating forehead with it.  _

_ He rolled his eyes at his friend’s antics. “Well, if you’d put more of an effort into your workouts during practice, maybe you wouldn’t be so winded.”  _

_ Kakarot tucked his shirt back into his pants, making Vegeta want to gag, and laughed. “You know, you’re probably right”  _

_ It was then that he felt a large hand come down hard on his shoulder. It happened so fast that he nearly jumped out of his seat. He looked up and was shocked to see the eyes of his very angry looking father staring back at him. _

_ “Having fun?” _

_ Vegeta had no words with which to respond. He was completely speechless. _

_ “Think you could just get away with stealing my car right from under my nose you little brat?” _

_ The insult was what cleared his head enough to glare back at the man who gave him half of his DNA.  _

_ “I didn’t steal it. I borrowed it.” _

_ “It’s not borrowing if you don’t ask, runt.” _

_ “Yeah, like asking you for anything has ever gone over well.” He spat out. The one night of his life that he was actually enjoying, that he didn’t want to end, was now in total shambles. He didn’t see how he could get out of this with his pride intact, there was no way.  _

_ His father gripped his arm hard, He knew there would be bruises there come morning, and pulled him up out of his seat.  _

_ “Talk to me like that again, and I’ll call the cops. Tell them you stole my car and I want to press charges.” _

_ Vegeta glared at his father, with nothing but hatred in his eyes, but was smart enough to keep his mouth shut, because he knew that his father wasn’t bluffing in the slightest.  _

_ He felt another presence next to him and saw that Kakarot was standing to his right, looking back and forth between himself and his father. The look in his eyes was one that Vegeta was familiar with. He was ready for battle.  _

_ He was stunned yet so thankful that Kakarot would stand by his side. But he also couldn’t let him get into trouble, because he knew what his father was like and he didn’t wish that on anyone.  _

_ “Kakarot, I’ll be fine.” He grunted out between clenched teeth, and with an expression on his face that he hoped conveyed the message to stand down. _

_ His friend narrowed his eyes at his father, then looked back to him for several moments, nodded and took a few steps back but didn’t sit down at the table, letting Vegeta know that he had his support.  _

_ “Smart kid. At least he knows a losing match when he sees one.” Vegeta Sr. laughed out. Still gripping tightly onto his son’s arm.  _

_ “Come on you little bastard, we’re going home.” Then he literally dragged Vegeta out of the hall.  _

_ Before Kakarot was out of his sight, he yelled over his shoulder to him.  _

_ “Don’t say a word to her. Not a fucking word!!” _

  
  
  
  


Present day

When he was done speaking, he realized she had taken hold of his hand, and was squeezing it tightly. 

Their eyes met and he could see hers looked glossy in the moonlight. 

“Vegeta…” She whispered. 

He quickly took back his hand and drank the rest of his beer in a few gulps. This is exactly why he didn’t want her to know. He didn’t want her pity, didn’t want her looking at him like some little abandoned and abused puppy. 

What came out of her mouth though wasn’t even close to pity. 

“All these years.” She shook her head and looked up at the stars. “We could have...I should have...but instead...” She couldn’t seem to finish her sentence, but then again, she didn’t have to. He knew what she was trying to say. 

If he had only told her the truth, they could have been together. The thought hit him like a head on collision. The one desire he let himself have in his heart, and mind, but never in reality...it could have actually happened. 

It wasn’t long after that fateful night that he learned Bulma had started going out with Yamcha. He was devastated, not only because he was the one that pushed her towards him, but also because he knew Yamcha wasn’t good enough for her. But he also knew he wasn’t good enough for her either. They were still dating when they graduated from high school, and that was the last he had heard about the two of them, until he ran into her last week. 

Now, he couldn’t help but take a quick look at her left hand as she sat in the lounger, wringing them together. There was no ring on her finger. Relief came flooding over him so fast and suddenly that he took a deep loud breath to steady himself, which caught her attention. 

“Why didn’t you say anything?” She pleaded. 

He shrugged his shoulders. “I was young and stupid. I didn’t want you to...pity me.”

Bulma groaned out loud. “UGH, men and their pride!” She got up and nudged him so she had enough room to sit on the same lounger, cross legged and facing him. 

She reached out for his hands and held them both tightly. 

“Look, I don’t pity you. I’m sad that you didn’t have a good relationship with your father, and pissed off that he was such an asshole to you, but no I don’t pity you. What most upsets me is the missed opportunities, and had I known what really happened I wouldn’t have ended up with...him.”

They sat silently on the lounger, still holding hands. Vegeta had only one regret in his life, and that was not telling her the truth. But he knew that she deserved someone better than him. He couldn’t give her what she deserved, what she needed. But it didn’t mean the decision still didn’t haunt him. 

But now, the way she talked of him, he regretted it even more. Yamcha had hurt her somehow. He could see it in her eyes. A fury built up inside of him at the thought of her being hurt at the hands of that bastard. He wanted nothing more than to rip him to shreds. 

He had to know. He needed it like he needed to breathe. 

“Are you still with him?”

The fire and determination in her eyes that he remembered so fondly from their youth were present when she answered. 

“No. I’m not. I ended it last year.”

“What...What did he do to you?” He grit out. 

She smiled ruefully at him. “That’s a conversation for another time. This is a lot to take in and I don’t think I can handle airing all my dirty laundry too.” 

He nodded, disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to know what happened and to comfort her, but he understood why she didn’t want to. 

“Well, I think us running into each other is rather fortuitous don’t you think?”

He rubbed the top of her hands with his thumbs, loving how soft her skin felt underneath his fingers.

“I suppose so.”

He didn’t know what to expect tonight, and was planning on letting her down gently, if she were to mention any kind of relationship with him. Because he knew, no matter how right they felt together, it just wouldn’t work. They were too different, from different worlds. He wasn’t worthy of her affection. 

But the light in her eyes, the spring breeze flowing through her hair, and the sweetness of her words...he couldn’t resist her if he tried. 

And when she leaned in closer to him and their lips met in a soft, tender kiss, any logic he had was out the window. He brought his hands up and cupped her face. Keeping the kiss chaste used the last bit of sanity he could muster, but muster he did. Brushing his lips lightly over hers, he relished in how soft they were, how her lips fit perfectly with his own. Her bottom lip was a little more plump than the top one and he gently nipped it with his teeth as he moved back. 

When they pulled apart, they were both panting slightly, and he could see her eyes were glazed over from the heat of the moment. When she was able to finally speak, the tenderness in her voice shook him to the core. 

“To new beginnings.” 

There was no way he could refuse her now. He decided then that they could discuss this later, when the adrenaline of the moment was gone. For now, for this moment, he’d let his feelings have the reins and deal with the consequences later. 

“To new beginnings.” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all of you reading, and those just tuning in. I'm thankful for your patience as I continue to write this. I know it's been a hot minute since I posted and I apologize for that, let's face it, the real world is kind of crazy right now and I'm struggling to deal with it as I'm sure many of you are as well. Just know I'm honored that you all enjoy this story and I hope you had fun reading the latest update. 
> 
> Stay healthy and safe, my fandom friends. 
> 
> <3 Pamgie/Akfromthemilkyway


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